Family Trials
by The Equestrian Writer
Summary: [Sequel to Family Ties] After everything they've been through, you'd think they can get through anything. But their hardest obstacle just may be themselves...
1. Labor Pains

**A/N: **Okay, so everybody wanted a Family Ties sequel, and I was originally going to wait a little longer to put it up. But I couldn't stop thinking about it, so here it is. I hope it's as good as the first and you all like it. :)

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**Chapter One**

**Labor Pains**

**June**

Rebecca woke up with a groan, and rolled over to the edge of the bed to see what time it was. It was a few minutes after ten in the morning. She groaned again as she sat up. Her back hurt and her bladder was full to bursting, plus she hadn't gotten a full night's sleep. She put her hands on her swollen belly, and sighed.

"What are you doing to me?" she asked the little boy growing inside her. Her thoughts turned serious as she tried to imagine her baby boy in her arms. "Three more days."

Unable to wait any longer, Rebecca slid off the bed and hurried, which was more like a slow-fast walk in her condition, to the bathroom to relieve herself. When she came back to her room, Rebecca changed into a pair of loose cotton shorts, and a loose, blue tank-top. She swept her hair up into a ponytail already feeling herself start to sweat in the late-morning, summer heat. She could have the window opened all the way, and she still never seemed to get enough air.

Feeling at least a little cooler, Rebecca padded out into the hall and made her way to the kitchen. The room wasn't empty when she walked in; Peter was sitting at the table in front of his laptop and Katie was sitting in her booster seat. He looked up at her entrance.

"Morning," Peter greeted, picking up his cup of coffee. "How are you feeling?"

"Trust me, you do not want to know the answer to that," Rebecca told him, crossing her arms over her bloated belly. She tried, and failed, not to look at the coffee. "That's looks really good, you don't know how badly I could go for a cup right now."

"Yeah, I remember Lou was the same way when she was pregnant with Katie," Peter said, smiling at his daughter. "Towards the end, she was tired all the time, grumpy, and even forgetful. You just hang in there."

"Well, I've yet to be forgetful, unless I'm forgetting something right now," Rebecca replied, with a laugh, and going to the refrigerator to get a glass of orange juice. After emptying the cup, Rebecca put it in the sink. "I think I'm going to take a walk outside, he seems to like it when I keep moving."

Peter chuckled, and told her to have fun as he turned back to his laptop. Rebecca smiled at Katie as she walked past, and tickled the back of her neck. The toddler was still giggling even after Rebecca slid on a pair of flip-flops, because they were the only shoes that fit comfortably right now, and stepped outside.

She breathed in the summer air and smiled. Since she'd come to Heartland about nine months ago, Rebecca had come to think of the ranch as her home. It felt like she had a family again; everybody accepted her like a long-lost cousin. She knew, though, she would have to find an apartment or something for her and her son. There was no way she would let these kind, generous people keep supporting her, while she did nothing to help out. Before Rebecca had taken maternity leave, Lou had offered her a job at Maggie's Diner. The pay and tips were good, but she was still no where close to affording a decent apartment.

A sharp pain from her abdomen brought Rebecca back to the present. "I haven't forgotten about you," Rebecca whispered, rubbing her belly with one hand, slowly the pain subsided. "Boy, you're kicks are getting stronger. You're going to have so much fun here, running around, and seeing all the beautiful horses."

Rebecca made her way carefully down the porch steps. She started walking to the barn. On her way, Rebecca saw Caleb in the round pen riding a bay horse. By the looks of it, they were at a stalemate. She stopped to watch for a minute.

The bay horse trotted with his head up as Caleb attempted to turn him around. As they came toward her, Rebecca lifted her hand in a wave, but Caleb was concentrating on the horse and didn't see her. They had been dating for about five months, but Rebecca wasn't sure how serious they were. They'd talked about the future before, mostly about her son and even that was jokingly. She still wasn't sure if Caleb truly wanted to be in her son's life, a part of her wanted him to be, but the other part didn't want to put any pressure on him.

She heard hoofbeats behind her and turned around in time to see Jack sliding down off of his paint gelding. "I see, you finally woke up," Jack observed.

"Yeah," Rebecca sighed. "Nice ride?"

"If you can call it that," Jack said, gruffly, and Rebecca could already tell that was the wrong question to ask. "I had to play cat-and-mouse with three calves that decided to slip out of a hole in the fence, after I told a certain partner of mine to fix it a week ago. A partner, I might add, who did not show up today."

"Well, you're home now," Rebecca replied. "It can only get better from here, right?"

"One can hope," Jack said.

There was the clang of the gate as Caleb came out of the round pen with the horse. Even though, the gelding had some sweat lathered on his neck, he had his ears pricked and he greeted Jack's horse excitedly. Rebecca backed up a few steps, not wanting to end up with a few broken toes.

"What were you doing with this guy?" Rebecca asked him, gesturing to the gelding, who was sneaking a bite of grass underfoot.

"Amy asked me to work with him," Caleb answered, lifting the gelding's head back up. "He was bought from a sale yard as a trail horse, but all the training he's known was harsh, abusive training. He turned out to be to much for his owner."

"So, you were retraining him, the nice way?" Rebecca questioned.

"Yeah, pretty much," Caleb nodded. "Amy, did a lot of the ground work with him, but since she's, with child, she asked me to take over, for a little while anyway. He should be ready to return to his owner soon. His name is Miles."

"Hey, Miles," Rebecca started to reach her hand out toward the gelding, until she was seized by a huge cramp in her abdomen, or so she thought. It wasn't until she felt something sliding down her leg and she grew light-headed for a moment. Jack caught her by her arm as she stumbled. Rebecca looked up at Caleb, whose blue eyes were full of concern.

As the cramp subsided, she was able to say, "I think my water just broke."

**~OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~**

"Ty, will you stop that? You're making me nervous," Amy told her husband as they sat in the waiting room of the gynecologists' office.

Ty looked up from where he had been locking and unlocking his phone. "What?" he asked her.

Amy laughed and put her hand on Ty's knee to stop it from bouncing. "Relax, what's gotten you so wound up?" she questioned him. Ty slid his phone into his pocket and took Amy's hand.

"It's just nerves," Ty said, shrugging. "We're going to find out if the baby is a boy or girl, today. After this, it's going to feel more real, like this is really happening. We're actually going to be parents."

"Like it wasn't real before?" Amy joked, trying to lighten the mood a little.

"You know what I mean," Ty replied, though he smiled a little bit.

"Yes, I do," Amy said, squeezing his hand. "And, despite all the nerves, are you happy?"

Ty turned to look at her, seriousness in his eyes. But Amy also saw love and tenderness there as well. Ty reached out and put his hand on her six-month pregnant belly. "I am very happy," Ty told her, smiling. "Because of you, I'm going to be a father. I just hope I don't mess this kid up, the way my dad and Wade did to me."

"Hey," Amy said, scooting closer to him. "You turned out pretty great, despite what you've gone through, and you're going to be a wonderful father. Any kid would love to have you in their life."

"How did I get so lucky to find you?" Ty asked, rhetorically.

Amy blushed and looked down, her hand finding Ty's on her belly. Thankfully, a nurse came out just then and called her name, saving her from having to say anything. "Ready?" she asked Ty, looking over at him. Ty nodded, biting his lip as he helped her to her feet. Together, they walked over to the nurse in white scrubs, hair pulled back in a ponytail, who smiled at them.

"Follow me," she said in a friendly tone.

Amy and Ty followed the nurse down a hall, turned right and then stopped in front of a door. She opened it and gestured for them to go in. "Dr. Shultz will be right with you," the nurse informed them, then closed the door, leaving them alone in the exam room.

"So, here we are," Amy said, breaking the silence as she walked toward the exam table, then turned to face Ty.

"Yup, soon we'll know if we're having a boy or a girl," Ty replied, walking over to her and putting his hands on her waist.

"Speaking of, you haven't told me what you're hoping it's going to be," Amy said to him. "Do you want a son or a daughter?"

"Honestly, I'll love our child, no matter what it is," Ty answered. Then, he seemed to think about something, and continued, "Though, I may have an inkling what it could be."

"An inkling?" Amy questioned, her brow furrowing. "What does that mean?"

"Well, a couple months ago, I had a dream, our child was in it," Ty explained. "He was about five years old, and he had my eyes and your hair."

"He? We had a son?" Amy asked him. When Ty nodded, Amy bit her lip to hide a smile. "It's funny because I had the same dream a few months ago too, except it was a little girl."

Ty smiled, a short laugh bursting from him. "What does this mean?" he asked, though not really expecting an answer.

"I don't know," Amy said, looping her arms loosely around Ty's neck. "I guess we'll have to wait and see what the doctor says."

Ty leaned down and gave her soft kiss on the lips. Amy leaned into him, and only for this moment, did she dislike the baby for not allowing her to get as close to him as she wanted to. Though, it didn't matter because in the next second, the door started to creak open, and so they pulled apart. Dr. Shultz walked into the exam room, her red hair pulled up in a bun with loose strands framing her face and her white coat billowing around her.

"Hello," Dr. Shultz greeted. "How are doing?"

"Pretty good," Amy answered, looking up at Ty briefly.

"Okay, if you'll have a seat," Dr. Shultz said, pulling over the ultrasound machine. "We can get started."

Amy sat down on the reclining exam table, and leaned back. Ty moved to stand next to her, and Amy took his hand in hers. The doctor turned the ultrasound machine on, and smeared the cold gel onto Amy's belly as they waited for it to boot up. Dr. Shultz placed the wand on Amy's belly and a picture appeared on the monitor. The doctor moved the wand around until she could make out the fetus. Dr. Shultz made a sound at the back of her throat and narrowed her eyes at the screen.

"That's interesting," the doctor said at last.

Both Amy and Ty looked at her, hoping there was nothing wrong with the baby. "What is it?" Amy asked finally. "Is something wrong with the baby?" Ty squeezed her hand and reassuringly.

"Not at all," Dr. Shultz reassured them. She turned and smiled at them. "Actually, the babies seem to be on track in their development."

They both breathed deep sighs of relief, and then they realized exactly what the doctor just said. "Wait, you said _babies_?" Ty questioned, confused. "As in more than one?"

"That's generally how twins work," Dr. Shultz nodded, smiling. She went on to point out the two fetuses; two heads, four arms and legs. It was undoubtedly twins.

"Wow," Amy breathed, unable to find any other words to describe how she was feeling. She looked up at Ty. "Can you believe it? We're having twins!" She laughed.

"Yeah, it is," Ty said, still staring at the screen. He couldn't quite decipher what he was feeling right now. There was joy, of course, but there was also...nervousness. Now that there was two babies, that meant twice the responsibility. Ty smiled at Amy, not wanting to worry her.

"Now, we have a perfect view of baby number one's gender, would you like to know?" Dr. Shultz asked them.

Without hesitation, both Amy and Ty answered, "Yes," they shared small laughs together, they're hands still interlocked.

Dr. Shultz looked at the screen, then at the two of them. "It's a boy," she announced. Elation filled both Amy and Ty at finally knowing what they were going to have. A boy, they were going to have a son. "Unfortunately, baby number 2 is hiding partly behind the first one, and I can't good look at it. Hopefully, by the next appointment, we'll be able to tell the gender of both babies."

"That's okay," Ty said, finding his voice. "We're happy with what we know."

"Definitely," Amy agreed. She looked up at Ty once more, and they're lips connected in a quick kiss. They turned to watch their twins move about on the screen. It almost looked like the first baby, their son, was waving at them. Ty reached out and touched the screen with his finger where the baby's hand was.

"I—we can't wait to meet you," Ty whispered, glancing briefly at Amy, who leaned her head against him. "Both of you."

**~OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~**

Rebecca had never felt such pain in her life as she felt right now. It felt like she was being torn in half from the inside out. She'd arrived at the hospital an hour ago and she'd already been three centimeters dilated. The last time the doctor checked, about five minutes ago, it was only five centimeters. Rebecca had wanted to throw something at her, but knew that would do no good, even if it would make her feel better. She groaned and threw her head back against the pillow as another contraction ended.

"Why is this taking so long?" Rebecca wondered, closing her eyes. "Why isn't he here yet?"

"The doctor said you're halfway there," Caleb assured her as he sat by her side. "Just hang in there."

"What does she know anyway!" Rebecca burst out, opening her eyes. "Is she the one pushing a human being out of her body? I'm the one in pain over here!"

"I'm sure they're doing everything they can," Caleb tried to calm her down. "This kind of things takes time."

"Caleb, shut up!" Rebecca snapped at him. She instantly regretted saying that when she the hurt look pass over Caleb's features. Here he was by her side, supporting her, as she gave birth to another man's child, and she was yelling at him. What kind of horrible person did that? "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. I think this whole labor thing has messed with my head. I am really grateful that you're here with me. I don't think I would be able to do this alone."

"Hey, give yourself some credit," Caleb said. "You're one of the strongest people I know, to have gone through everything you have, and still come out alright. I'm honored just to be a part of you life."

"Trust me, it may look like I've got it all together, but I'm falling apart on the inside," Rebecca confessed. "Sometimes I wonder what exactly I'm doing and other times...I just want somebody to catch me."

"I'll catch you, if you want me to," Caleb whispered. Rebecca smiled as he reached for her hand and squeezed it. They were still staring into each other's eyes when the door to her hospital room opened and a nurse in green, surgical scrubs walked in.

"Hi, I wanted to see how you were doing and if you needed anything?" the nurse asked in a polite, friendly voice. She was a tiny, mid-twenty-year-old, her blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail and a black headband keeping stubborn strands out of her face.

Rebecca broke eye contact with Caleb, and looked at the nurse, a smile on her face. "Yeah, an epidural will be nice," she half-joked.

"I'll let Dr. Shultz know you requested one," the nurse said. "She should be in to see you shortly, she was just finishing up with another patient."

"Okay," Rebecca replied, suddenly not in any hurry to the leave the moment she'd just had with Caleb. To bad the baby was. Another contraction gripped her, this even more painful than the last, if that was possible. After it was over, Rebecca leaned back, breathing heavy and her hair plastered to her head by sweat.

"You're doing great," the nurse praised. "Soon, you'll be holding your new baby boy in your arms."

"You hear that? You're doing great," Caleb repeated, flexing his fingers that had been in her death grip during the contraction.

"Yeah, forgive me for not jumping up and down in excitement," Rebecca said, dryly. "I'm a little busy at the moment, as if I could even stand up right now."

The nurse hid a smile as she turned to leave. After she left, Rebecca turned to Caleb. "You called Adam, right?" she asked him. "Because he should be here, he should be here for the birth of his son."

"Don't worry, Jack took care of all the phone calls," Caleb assured her. "He said he was on his way."

Rebecca leaned back against the pillows, breathing a sigh of relief. Even if she wasn't sure where they stood with each, Adam still deserved to be here for his son. The baby, after all, was the one thing that made him want to get sober in the first place. Rebecca wanted Adam in her child's life, even if she wasn't anymore.

Ten minutes later, Dr. Shultz had arrived and announced that Rebecca was almost ready to start pushing. Rebecca wasn't sure how she felt about that. On one hand, she wanted to get this labor over with, but she knew as soon as the baby was born, her life will never be the same. Adam still hadn't arrived yet, and Rebecca was getting nervous that he'll miss the birth.

"Is the proud dad going to stay in the room for the birth?" Dr. Shultz asked Caleb as she prepared everything.

Rebecca blushed as they both answered at the same time. "I'm not-"

"He's not the father,"

"I am,"

Rebecca looked towards the door, and saw Adam standing there, looking disheveled as if just he'd rushed here from work. He looked flushed as he took in the scene, and Rebecca instantly let go of Caleb's hand. Although, she didn't know why, she wasn't embarrassed, but she suspected it mostly had to do with sparing Adam's feelings. She still wasn't sure how he'd take the news of her dating someone else, though he probably suspected.

Adam walked over to stand right in front of Caleb. "You can leave now," he told the other man, his voice quiet. Caleb stood up so that he was face to face with Adam. Rebecca wasn't sure what either one of them was about to do, but she sure didn't want them getting into a fight, especially right now.

"Caleb," Rebecca said, catching his hand again. When he turned to look at her, she gave him a grateful smile. "Just go, I'll see you after."

Rebecca could tell Caleb really didn't want to leave her, but in the he did. But not without giving her kiss on the cheek first, and sending Adam a look. Rebecca watched as Adam sat down on the stool Caleb had vacated. He looked over at her and gave her a strained half-smile.

"How are you feeling?" Adam asked.

"I'm holding in there," Rebecca answered, truthfully. "I'm excited, but nervous at the same time. You?"

"Same," Adam said. He wouldn't look at her as he said it, and he kept shifting on the stool, something he did when he was nervous.

"Alright, we're ready for you to start pushing, Rebecca," Dr. Shultz announced. Adam and Rebecca shared a look and Adam held his hand out to her. Rebecca slid her hand into his, glad that he was here and knowing that she wouldn't be alone in raising this baby. The contraction was getting stronger as Dr. Shultz counted til it was time for her to start pushing. There were only a few more minutes until their baby boy would take his first breath in the world.

**~OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~**

The drive home was almost completely silent, the only sound being from the whoosh of the wind through the open windows and the hum of the other cars passing them. They were both wrapped up in their own thoughts, thinking of the good news they'd just been given. It was a lot to take in, definitely not what they had been expecting. Even now, Amy was beginning to realize the weight of what this actually meant.

"It's kind of hard to believe, isn't it?" Amy broke the silence, wanting to know what Ty actually thought about the twins. He hadn't really said a word since Dr. Shultz told them about the baby. "If we didn't have proof, I'd say she was pulling our legs." She held up the sonogram she had in her hand.

Ty nodded, distractedly, his eyes glued to the road ahead of him. Amy was suddenly worried that he was having second thoughts, now that he knew there would be two babies instead of one. "Ty, are you okay?" she asked him, almost afraid of his answer.

At the tone of her voice, Ty risked a glance over at her. "Yeah, I'm fine," he answered, then turned his attention back to the road. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"It's just that you haven't said a word since we left the doctor's office," Amy explained, hoping it was all just in her head. "I was wondering if maybe you were having second thoughts about all this. I mean, it would be okay if you were-"

"Amy, no," Ty interrupted, then quickly pulled the truck over to the side of road and shut off the engine. He turned to face her, now that he wasn't distracted by the road anymore. "I'm sorry if I worried you, but I do want this baby—er, babies. It's just a lot to take in, now that I'm going to be responsible for _two _human lives instead of one. I'm just scared I'm going to mess up, I guess."

"Ty, it's ok," Amy told him, reaching for his hand. "I'm scared too, but we're in this together."

"Yes, we are," Ty agreed. "Come here." He opened his arms and Amy crawled into them like she belonged there, and she did. Their lips met in a sweet kiss, ending with a peck on the cheek from Ty. Then, he looked down, putting his hand on her belly. "Do hear that, you two, we can't wait to meet you both, but you'll have to go easy on us, we're kind of new at this."

Amy couldn't help but smile as he talked to the babies. She liked it when he did. There was a sharp pain right then, as the babies liked hearing his voice. They always seemed to be more active, for a few minutes at least, after he did so. Ty looked back up at her then, and Amy could see everything she had ever wanted reflected in his eyes. Love, family, and a sense of belonging.

"Three more months," Ty whispered, his hand moving in circles on her belly.

"Three more months," Amy repeated with a smile.

"Oh," Ty jumped as if startled as he remembered something. "I got a call when we were in the appointment. I'd forgotten until now." He pulled his phone out, pushed a few buttons, and held it up to his ear. His face grew serious as he listened to the voice-mail message. Amy watched him, waiting.

When he lowered the phone, Amy couldn't take it anymore. "What is it?" she asked.

"That was Jack," Ty said, almost as if he could quite understand it. "Apparently, Becky went into labor. They're at the hospital right now."

"Well, let's go then," Amy replied, snapping him into action. Ty turned the truck on, and pulled back onto the road. Amy stayed where she was, not wanting to move away him. Ty smiled down at her. He took one hand off the steering wheel to hold her hand in his. They stayed that way as the truck sped to the hospital.

**~OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~**

Rebecca lay exhausted in the hospital bed, the only thing keeping her awake was the baby boy in her arms. He was six pounds, three ounces big, and he had a dark mass of hair on top of his head. His eyes had finally fluttered closed, after they had been darting all over the place, trying to take everything in at once. He had only cried once when he was born, just a short wail to let everyone know he was here. Now, Rebecca watched as his small chest rose up and down as he slept.

"He's incredible," Adam whispered as he leaned in close. Rebecca had almost forgotten he sat right next to her. "Fifteen minutes ago, he wasn't even here and now he is. It's amazing."

Rebecca looked up at him just then, watching him watch their son. It was then, she realized just far he'd come, from the drunken man a few months ago to the proud father who sat beside her. "Aj," Rebecca blurted out before she had even fully decided she was going to say it.

Adam blinked, not quite following. "Aj?" he questioned.

Rebecca nodded. "For his name," she explained. "Adam Joseph...er, Borden, I guess he'll take my name since we're not married..." She drifted off, realizing that she was just babbling. Rebecca looked up at Adam and saw that his eyes were shining as he looked at her.

"You don't have to name him after me, after everything I've done, I don't deserve that honor," Adam protested.

"Adam, all that is in the past," Rebecca told him. "You've gotten help, and are living a better, sober life now. I am so proud of you, and...I've thought about this for awhile and I want to name him Aj."

"Then, I like it," Adam relented, giving her a smile. "Thank you for always having faith in me. I love you, Becky. You don't have to say it back, I know you're with that cowboy out there, I just wanted you to know that."

Rebecca looked down, conflicted. She wanted to tell Adam she still loved him, but she didn't want to give him the wrong idea about the two of them. "You know, my arms are getting kind of tired from holding him, would you...do you want to hold your son?" Rebecca asked instead.

Adam grew nervous and hesitated. "I don't know," Adam said, unsure. "I'm probably going to drop him and break him or something."

"I promise you, you won't," Rebecca insisted, laughing at his nerves. She held Aj out to him. "Come on, take him."

Still, Adam shook his head. "You know, now that the adrenaline has worn off, I have to use the bathroom," Adam lied. Rebecca narrowed her eyes, seeing right through it, but she didn't want to push him. "I should take care of that."

Rebecca watched him get up in such a hurry that he almost knocked over the stool in his haste. "You're coming back, right?" she asked him.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I just need a minute," Adam assured her as he rushed out of the room.

Rebecca let a small laugh after Adam was gone. "I know he seems a little weird, but that's only because he wants the best for you," she whispered to the still-sleeping baby. "He's just nervous, but he does love you. You're the best thing that could have happened to him." Rebecca smiled as Aj cooed softly in his sleep.

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**A/N: **Wow, that was a long chapter, wasn't it? I really hope this story does as well as its' prequel, so please review and let me know you're thoughts! :)


	2. Two Years Later

**A/N: **Thank you to everybody who read and reviewed the first chapter. Hearing what everybody has to say about this story, really encourages me to write more. I'm glad you all like this story as much as the first one, and I hope you keep reading. I'll stop rambling now, and let you read this chapter. :)

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**Chapter Two**

**Two Years Later**

**September 3rd **

The yearling scraped the concrete floor with her hoof, her attention span waning, as she stood in the crossties inside the barn. She bobbed her head up and down, making the ropes rattle and shake. The two-year-old who had been sitting on a nearby step stool, stood up, her miniature toy horse lay on the ground forgotten. She stared at the impatient filly. Amy came around the yearling, ignoring the filly's antics.

"Why 'er do that?" the toddler asked, pointing to the horse's foot.

"Because she's antsy," Amy answered, forgetting for a second that she was talking to a two-year-old. She came over to put a brush in a grooming box, and knelt down in front of her daughter.

The little girl scrunched up her face as she tried to understand. "Ant-see?" she asked.

Amy smiled and pulled up the brim of the little girl's cowboy hat and said, "It means she doesn't like standing still for too long, like when you don't like it when it takes to long to go food shopping."

"Oh," the toddler said as Amy tucked some strands of blonde hair that had come loose from her braid. Her green eyes traveling from Amy to the yearling behind her. "Tres, you stand still or you go on timeout." Amy laughed as her daughter attempted to discipline the filly.

Tres was the filly's name, for having only three patches of brown on her body. She was the exact opposite of her mother, Destiny. She had a brown patch over her one blue eye, one over the opposite ear, and one on the side of her barrel stretching to underneath her belly, the rest of her was white. The filly would turn two next month. Both mare and filly still lived at Miracle ranch, and Amy was unsure if they would ever leave.

"We give 'er carrot now?" the two-year-old asked.

"Yes, you can," Amy told her as she straightened up. "I think she'll like that."

"Yay!" she cheered as she ran back over to her step stool and picked up a bright orange carrot. Amy helped her break the carrot in half and walked her over to the yearling. The filly gobbled up the carrot and the little girl giggled as horse spit covered her hand. She didn't seem bothered by it as most kids might have.

Suddenly, there was running footsteps and a moment later, a little boy, two-years-old as well, burst into the barn. He had the same blonde hair and green eyes as his sister and he wore a big smile on his face. "Jackson, where's daddy?" Amy asked the little boy.

Jackson pointed outside the barn, then turned back to Amy. "We fixed it!" he said excitedly, waving the toy, blue motorcycle in his hand.

"Did you make the puppy's leg all better?" Amy asked him. The little boy's face lit up with excitement as he told Amy all about the puppy with the broken leg, in his two-year-old babble, of course. Amy already knew that the puppy had come in two days ago after it had been hit by a car. As the toddler babbled on, Ty appeared at the entrance of the barn.

"Sorry, I had only turned around for a second to put Casey back in his cage," Ty explained. "That fast he must have slipped out the clinic door."

Amy waved it off. "It's fine, he was just telling me all about how you fixed Casey's leg," she said.

"Yeah, he should be able to go home tomorrow," Ty replied. Then, he walked over to Jackson, who was standing next to his sister as they raced their toys, horse vs motorcycle. Ty pulled the little boy up, so he was looking at him. "Jackson, you know you're not supposed go off by yourself. Mommy or I have to be with you when you go outside."

Jackson hung his head and he sniffled a little. "I sorry," he whimpered. He wrapped his small arms around Ty's neck, not wanting to be in trouble anymore.

"It's okay," Ty told him, straightening up and lifting his son up in his arms as he did. "We were going to get some lunch. Do you want to come, Lily?" He held his hand out to his daughter.

"Yes!" Lily exclaimed, jumping up and down. At the sudden moment, Tres jumped backward, stretching the crossties to their limit. Lily automatically stopped jumping and backed up a few steps, whining a sorry as she did. Ty came over and took her hand.

"I'll be in, in a minute," Amy said, moving over closer to Tres. "I'm just going to put her back outside." She clipped a lead line to the filly's halter and unhooked the crossties. Ty nodded and started walking out of the barn. Lily had only taken a few steps before she realized what Amy was doing.

"Wait, I come too!" Lily called, slipping her hand out of Ty's and ran back to Amy.

"I'm going to be real fast," Amy told her daughter, pushing her back toward Ty, who had started to come back for her. "You go get lunch with daddy and Jack." Ty started to take Lily's hand again, but she jerked it away.

"No! I come! I come!" Lily wailed, stomping both feet. Ty took her by the hand and started to half-drag her away, which caused her to start to cry. Amy's heart wrenched at the sound of her daughter upset, but there was no way she would be able watch a yearling and a two-year-old at the same time, besides it would only take her a minute. It would take less time than that for Lily to find something else to distract her.

Amy led Tres down the barn aisle, to the paddock behind the building. The filly walked quietly beside her, though with her head up and ears pricked, knowing where she was going. The yearling has been progressing fast in her training, and Amy was thrilled that the filly seemed to love to learn and be with people. When they reached the back paddock, Tres let out a loud whinny to her mother, who was grazing in the middle of the field. Destiny lifted her brown head and gave her own nicker of a greeting. Even though Tres was now weaned and didn't need the mare for nourishment, the two still shared a strong bond. Amy led the filly into the paddock and took off her halter. Tres looked back at Amy once, and then trotted off toward her mother. She watched as the two horses touched noses, greeting each other, then dropped their muzzles at the same time and began to graze side by side.

When Amy opened the back door of the ranch house into the kitchen, she was greeted by a frustrated two-year-old trying to voice her opinion and Ty trying to persuade her to eat her peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Amy couldn't help but smile as she watched the scene play out. The twins were sitting in their booster seats at the kitchen table; Jackson was drinking from his blue sippy cup, ignoring the plate sitting in front of him and Lily was pushing her own plate away, whining.

Finally, Ty seemed to notice her standing for the first time. "Amy, help!" he said, overwhelmed. "I don't know what to do, they won't eat."

"But you seem to have it so under control in here," Amy teased him.

"Amy, please!" Ty begged.

"Ok, I'll help, but first you have to admit that I'm smarter and you'll be lost without me," Amy said, stilling teasing. She laughed, when Ty just stared at her, panic and exhaustion in his eyes. She turned to face the kids and switched the plates. Jackson immediately put down his cup and picked up a slice of the sandwich. Lily wiped the tears from her eyes and began eating as well. Ty gaped at the two of them, hardly believing his eyes.

"How did you do that?" Ty asked, in disbelief.

"I'll tell you a little secret," Amy said, walking closer to him. "_Lily_ likes her sandwich cut into four _squares_ and _Jackson_ likes his cut into _triangles_. It's smooth sailing from there."

"I thought..." Ty shook his head. He took her by the waist and pulled her closer to him. "I would be lost without you. No doubt about that."

"Hey, give yourself some credit," Amy replied, her arms looped loosely around his neck. "You're pretty amazing sometimes."

"Just sometimes," Ty said, leaning closer to her. Amy bit her lip, hiding a smile, as the space between them disappeared. Their mouths met in a sweet, blissful kiss.

"Ok, most of the time, you're amazing," Amy said, when they parted. Ty smiled and opened his mouth to contradict her one more time, but Amy put a finger to his lips, interrupting him. They kissed again, this one longer and more passionate than the first.

"All done," came Lily's voice, pulling them away from their bliss. They turned around to see Lily pushing away her now-empty plate and Jackson shoving the last bite of sandwich in his mouth. They cleaned up the kids and took them upstairs for their nap. There was the usual fussiness of not wanting to go to sleep and both kept saying they had to go potty. They were in the midst of potty-training, so frequent trips to the bathroom were common. Finally, they lay quietly in their twin toddler beds, watching _Finding Nemo_.

"Party?" came Lily's voice as they were almost out the door. She was sitting up in bed, clutching her brown, stuffed horse. Ty walked back over to her and kneeled down beside her bed.

"It's not time for your party yet," Ty told her. Lily pouted and Ty laughed. "Well, if you hurry up and go to sleep, then mommy and I can get ready for your party. Then, when you and Jack wake up, everybody will be here and we can have your party."

"And cake?" Jackson asked from his bed.

"Yes, there will be cake too," Amy said, coming over to tuck him in again. "But not unless you go to sleep." Both toddlers quickly snuggled deeper under the covers, Lily even squeezed her eyes shut in hope sleep will come faster. They both got another kiss from each parent, only then were Amy and Ty able leave the room and close the door quietly behind them.

Lobo was already in his spot by the bedroom door, his nose right by the crack of the door. The husky had laid outside the twins' room for nap time, ever since they were born. Nobody had told him to or even knew why he did, he'd just always had. It worked to their advantage, though. If one of the twins made even the slightest noise, Lobo sat up and barked once, sometimes twice. If one of them started crying, he would run and get Amy or Ty himself. Amy knelt down besides the dog, scratching him on his head.

"Can you believe they're actually two-years-old today?" Ty asked, in a whisper.

"I know, it's seems like it was just yesterday we were bringing them home from the hospital," Amy said, distractedly running her hand over Lobo's fur. "Now, they're talking and walking all by themselves." They were both silent for moment, each wrapped up in their own thoughts.

"We should get ready for this party," Ty broke the silence, reaching down to help Amy up. "Otherwise, if they wake up and there is no party, there's probably going to be a riot."

Amy laughed quietly as he put an arm around her shoulders and steered her down the hall, toward the stairs. Lobo watched them go, until they disappeared down the steps, and then lay his head back down on the floor, on guard duty.

**~OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~**

An hour later, Amy and Ty were finishing blowing up balloons and tying them to several chairs out in the backyard. The day had turned hot, so they also had pulled out the blue, plastic kiddie pool with various sea animals painted around the outside, for the kids to splash around in. Amy straightened up after tying a second happy birthday balloon onto the yellow-and-green child picnic table. The yard was festive and appropriate for two toddlers' birthday party. Even Harley thought so as he stood at the fence of the closest paddock. He watched at Ty walked back and forth, nickering a little whenever he came close to the fence.

"We did a pretty good job, if I don't say so myself," Amy said.

"Yeah," Ty agreed, after he finished stacking bags of hotdog and hamburger buns on a table by the barbeque grill. "They're going to love it."

Amy smiled. "Ty, they're two, they like anything," she replied, bursting his bubble.

"I just want today to be special," Ty admitted, turning around to rearrange the condiments. Amy walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"It will be," Amy told him, resting her cheek on his back. "It is, because we're all together. Forever and always."

Ty turned around in her arms, putting his own arms around her. "Promise?" he asked her, leaning his forehead against hers.

"I don't plan on going anywhere," Amy reassured him. They leaned in for a kiss, but right before their lips met, there was running footsteps causing them to break apart. A five-year-old Katie ran up to them, her pigtails flying behind her, carrying a brightly wrapped gift. She was wearing a wearing a pink-and-green skirt with a matching shirt that had a butterfly on it.

Katie greeted them excitedly, and gave them each a hug. "Where's Lily?" she asked. "I want to give her her present. She's gonna love it!"

"She's sleeping right now," Amy told the little girl.

"Ohhh," Katie said, disappointed. "I got her a mermaid Barbie. She's always playing with mine, now she can have her own. It was my idea, but mommy paid for it."

"That's very sweet of you," Amy replied, looking up just as Peter, Tim, and Lou, who had an armful of presents, came into the backyard. "I'm sure she'll love it. Lou, you didn't have to get all this."

"We were going to come through the front door, but I didn't want to wake the kids in case they were sleeping," Lou explained. "And are you kidding me, nothing's too much for my little niece and nephew. Besides, grandpa and Georgie are riding over, so some of these presents are from them."

"Thank you," Amy said, sincerely. "The twins should be up soon, they've been sleeping awhile."

"You can put those over on this table," Ty told Lou, leading her over to an empty table. Lou followed him and placed the presents, from biggest to smallest, on the table.

"Well, I'm going to go see my grandchildren, so I can wish them a happy birthday," Tim replied, heading for the house.

"No, I don't think so," Ty stopped his father-in-law by the door.

"Why not?" Tim questioned him. "Amy just said, they'll be up soon anyway. What's the big deal if I wake them up a little early?"

"Because if you do, they're going to be cranky and upset," Ty answered firmly, not moving from in front of the door. "Do you really want them to be miserable during their _birthday party_?"

"Dad, c'mon, it's only a few more minutes," Amy added.

"Okay, okay," Tim said, backing down. As he moved away to sit down at the patio table, Lobo gave a loud bark from upstairs in the house.

"Not even that," Amy said, and then hurried into the house.

A few minutes later, Amy came back outside with Jackson in her arms, and Lily ran out in front of her. They were both dressed nice for the party; Lily in a red-and-blue striped sundress and Jackson in denim shorts and a blue-and-green striped shirt. Lily ran right over to Katie and threw her little arms around the older girl. Katie handed her the present and Lily tore into it before anybody could stop her. She squealed with delight when she saw the mermaid Barbie.

Ty walked over to Amy, who was still holding Jackson, with a present in his hand. "Since your sister is getting a head start on her presents, do want to open one?" Ty asked his son. Jackson just stared at him, his eyes still a glazed from sleep. Ty pulled open a small piece of the wrapping paper, giving the toddler a head start. Jackson tore off one piece and then dropped his head onto Amy's shoulder with a big yawn. Amy and Ty laughed as Ty finished taking the paper off the toy. It was a T-Rex, and when Ty pushed the button on its' head, it lifted its' head and roared while attempting to walk in the plastic and cardboard it was stuck in.

Jackson immediately picked his head up, a big smile on his face, suddenly wide awake. "Dino!" the little boy exclaimed. He reached to take the toy from Ty and scrambled to get down. When he was on his feet, Jackson looked around at all the people in the yard, apparently looking for something. "Where AJ?" he asked, looking up at Amy and Ty.

"He's not here yet, bud," Ty answered, then he looked up toward Lou. "Where is Rebecca? Isn't she coming?"

"Yeah, she said, she's waiting for Caleb, though," Lou explained, from where she sat across from Tim.

Ty knelt down and helped Jackson take his new dinosaur out of the box, while Amy went over to Lily, who was screaming she couldn't open her doll, despite Katie's attempts at helping. "I tried to help her, but she won't let me," Katie said.

"That's okay, Katie," Amy replied, smiling at her. Katie giggled, and skipped off with her own mermaid Barbie in her hand. Amy took the box from a whining Lily, and easily slid the Barbie out of the box. After undoing the twist ties, Amy handed the doll to her daughter.

"Thank you!" Lily squealed, all happy now as she took the Barbie. She ran off after Katie. "Wait, Ka—ee!"

A few minutes later, a fourteen-year-old Georgie and Jack clattered into the ranch yard on horseback. Paint and Jack both look exhausted from the long ride as opposed to Phoenix, who kept tossing his head and prancing, and Georgie's face was flushed with excitement. They halted the horses, but only Jack dismounted. It was then that Amy realized that Phoenix was dressed in his English gear.

"You can put him in with Spartan and Harley, grandpa," Amy said, stopping Lily and then, Jackson from running over to the horses. Jack nodded, and led his horse to the paddock to take the saddle off.

"Hey, Amy!" Georgie called, from still on top of Phoenix. "Do you want to jump Spartan and Phoenix in the riding ring?"

"I can't, Georgie, I have to watch these two," Amy declined, though a part of her wanted to take her up on the offer.

"But Amy, you never ride anymore! Please!" Georgie pleaded, leaning low on Phoenix's neck.

Before she could decline again, Ty stepped up next to her. "She's right, Amy. When was the last time you got to ride?" When Amy didn't answer, he continued, "Go ahead. I can hold down the fort here for a little while."

"I can't ask you to do that," Amy said, shaking her head.

"I don't mind. Besides," Ty replied. "We have a whole family to help with kids. Go ride your horse."

"Are you sure?" Amy asked again, a smile on her face. As an answer, Ty pushed her toward the barn, then ushered the twins back to the party. Amy took the hint and hurried to the paddock to get Spartan. Georgie crowed a _yes _and trotted Phoenix to the riding arena on the other side of the ranch yard.

About ten minutes later, Amy and Georgie were in the ring, warming up the horses, mostly Spartan. They stopped by the gate when they were ready to start jumping the course, consisting of five jumps. Georgie volunteered to go first, and asked Phoenix to trot and then canter. The pair rode the course at a slow canter and then a fast one, without touching any of the rails. Georgie rode back to Amy, with a big smile on her face as she rubbed Phoenix's neck, telling him, he was good boy.

"That was amazing, Georgie, really," Amy complimented the younger girl. "You and Phoenix are so in tune to each other, I don't think there isn't anything you can't do together."

"Thanks, Amy," Georgie said. "Your turn."

Amy didn't need anymore encouragement. She urged Spartan into a trot, waited a few strides, then asked him to canter. Spartan pricked his ears, when he saw they were headed for the jumps, and lengthened his stride. They jumped the first fence too close, because of the gelding's excitement, and nicked the top rail. The pole clattered to the ground. Amy circled the gelding until he was calm and listening to her aids. The next fence they jumped, Spartan did it flawlessly like he was always does and Amy felt the smile spread across her face. She definitely needed and missed this, she just hadn't realized how much until right now.

By the time they landed after the last fence, Amy was ready to do the course again. But she had to be fair to Spartan, he hadn't had a workout like this in weeks. She didn't want to push him to hard, even if he did feel like coiled spring ready to burst open. When Amy halted Spartan next to Phoenix, she saw Ty standing by the gate with Jackson and Lily.

"I couldn't distract them any longer," Ty apologized. Amy waved it off as Lily kept repeatedly asking for a ride.

"Georgie, you can do the course again, if you want," Amy said. Of course, Georgie said she would and cantered off. "Ok, Lily, come on." The little girl squealed in delight as Ty lifted her over the fence and Amy nudged Spartan closer to it. Almost as soon as Lily was settled in front of Amy, Jackson started saying he wanted a turn. Ty picked him up and told him, he'll get a turn.

Amy let Lily hold the reins as Spartan plodded around half the arena, avoided Georgie jumping Phoenix in the other half. The two-year-old didn't stop giggling the whole time and she actually did a pretty good job at the pulling the reins from side to side. When they stopped at the gate, Lily clutched Spartan's neck, not wanting to get off.

"C'mon, Lily, it's Jackson's turn," Amy told her, trying to pry her arms loose.

"No!" Lily said, gripping Spartan tighter. The gelding turned his head to see who was holding onto him. Lily giggled loudly when Spartan's nose touched her arm and she sprang upright, almost bumping Amy in the face. She was still giggling when Amy handed her off to Ty.

"Horsie was gittin' me!" she giggled.

Jackson took his turn next, and unlike Lily, he was quieter, but he kept getting distracted. Two times he pointed to Georgie, and then once to Lobo, who was sniffing around the yard. "Hoooo!" Jackson said as he pulled back on the reins, when they back at the gate. Spartan stopped like a champ, and Amy gave him a pat. Jackson stared at her and then gave Spartan a pat of his own.

Jackson hadn't been on his feet for two seconds when he tore off across the yard, yelling AJ's name. Amy and Ty looked in time to see that Rebecca and Caleb had arrived, and the two little boys collide with each and tumble into the grass. They got up almost immediately and raced off to where Jackson left his new dinosaur. Lily ran after them, calling to them to wait. Amy was smiling to herself as she dismounted and led Spartan out of the gate, Ty was holding open for her.

The rest of the party went by in a blur. The younger kids all spent time splashing around in the kiddie pool. With only Lily crying a few times after she got water splashed in her eyes. Amy and Ty both took turns sitting next to the pool and playing with them. Eventually, Georgie couldn't stand the heat anymore and changed into her bathing suit, so she could just sit in the pool and cool off.

After the kids had worked up an appetite, Jack and Tim stood arguing over the barbeque grill about the correct wait to grill a burger. Most of the kids had hotdogs, AJ had two. Lily ate all of hers after Amy wiped it clean of the ketchup she'd said she wanted on it. Even though, he didn't admit to it, everybody suspected Jackson fed half his hotdog to Lobo, who never moved two feet away from the boy. Amy and Ty didn't have the heart to put him in timeout on his birthday, though.

Presents were next, and Amy and Ty helped the twins open them. It was tedious since they each became absorbed into one toy and didn't want open another. Once Lily opened up a twinkling unicorn, she walked away from the mess to play with her new toy. Jackson stayed to help clean up the mess, even if did take longer. His version of helping included, putting one piece of wrapping paper in his new T-Rex's mouth and walking the dinosaur over to the trash can to 'spit' the paper out in.

"Cake! Cake! Cake!" the twins, AJ, and Katie chanted as they banged their fists on the tabletop. Even Georgie joined in too. Ty put the vanilla cake with blue and pink frosting on top in front of Lily and Jackson. Georgie pretended to take a handful out of the cake, causing Lily to squeal a _no_ at her. Lou also reprimanded her with a shake of her head.

The birthday boy and girl were all smiles as the family sang to them and clapped at the end. Jackson clapped too, until Ty reminded him to blow out the candles. It only took him two puffs to blow out his two blue candles, while it took Lily a little longer and a lot of spit to blow out her two pink candles. As everybody clapped once more, Ty leaned down and captured Amy's lips with his.

"What was that for?" Amy asked, when the kiss ended.

"No reason," Ty shrugged. "I'm just really happy."

"Well, in that case," Amy smiled, and reached up to kiss him again. Happiness swelled in her chest as well. She had a wonderful husband and two beautiful, healthy children, nothing could take this away from her. Someone yelled 'cut the cake' and they pulled apart, laughing. All the kids dug into their pieces of cake almost as soon as Amy put them down in front of them. As she served the last piece of cake, Amy wished this moment didn't have end as she watched Lily and Jackson shovel cake into their mouths, icing all over their faces. Then, Ty put his arm around her, and she thought, it didn't have to.

* * *

**A/N: **I wasn't able to squeeze the twins' full names in this chapter, but I really want you guys to know them. So they are, Jackson Tyler Borden and Lily Marion Borden. Please review and tell me what you think! :)


	3. Part-Time Mom

**A/N: **Thanks again to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter. I hope you enjoy this one. :)

* * *

**Chapter Three**

**Part-Time Mom**

The next morning didn't start off that great. Ty had gotten called out on an emergency early this morning, so that left Amy alone with the kids. Everything was going fine, except for Lily, who was refusing to eat breakfast. She's rejected every cereal and breakfast alternative Amy has suggested so far. Lily stood in the middle of the kitchen, with her little arms crossed, pouting.

"Lily, you need to have something for breakfast," Amy told her daughter as she moved around her to the table. She poured milk into Jackson's bowl of cereal and shooed Lobo away from the table. Jackson splashed his spoon into the bowl, laughing a little as flyaway drops of milk landed on the table. "Jackson's having Cheerios, do want to have some with him?"

"No!" Lily exclaimed, stubbornly. "Pancakes!"

"I'm not making pancakes today, Lily," Amy said, kneeling down in front of her. Lily humphed and stomped a foot. "Now, if you eat some cereal, we can go outside and see the horses."

Ever since yesterday, when she rode Spartan at the birthday party, Amy couldn't stop thinking about how great it felt to be back in the saddle. She wanted to get back out there and work with the horses again. She only had three paying customers right now, but she really hadn't had a chance to work with any of the horses. Sometimes, Amy would get to work with one of the horses in the evening when Ty was there to help, but it usually turns into a riding lesson on Spartan or Harley for the kids. Today, Amy decided that she would work with the horses. Lily and Jackson will be fine sitting in the stroller, they'll love watching the horses anyway.

Lily didn't say anything, she just walked over to the table and Amy lifted her into her booster seat. Satisfied that Lily agreed to eat something, Amy poured some Cheerios into the purple My Little Pony bowl sitting on the table. She picked up the milk and started to pour it into the bowl, when Lily shot her hand, stopping her.

"No milk! No milk!" she cried. Amy put the milk back into the refrigerator without pouring it into the bowl, allowing Lily to eat her dry Cheerios with her hands. While she had her back turned, she heard a clatter on the floor and the scramble of paws as Lobo raced to get whatever fell. Amy turned around and saw Jackson's yellow tractor bowl upside down on the floor with spilled milk splattered around it. Jackson sat on the edge of his seat, finger in his mouth, looking guilty.

"Jack, what happened?" Amy asked him. Jackson just hung his head, and didn't say anything. Amy picked the bowl up off the floor and started to clean up the spilled milk with a wet towel. "We're you trying to be a big boy and carry your bowl to the sink?" Amy looked up in time to see the little boy nod his head a little.

That's where he usually gets himself into trouble. Jackson was only two, but he already wanted to do things independently, and being as quiet as he is, he doesn't ask for help when something's to hard. Amy sighed as she straightened up, this was taking much longer than she anticipated. Jackson slipped down from his chair and wrapped his small arms around Amy's legs.

"I sorry, mommy," he whined into her jeans.

"It's okay, just ask for help next time," Amy told him as she knelt down in front of him. Jackson nodded. "Now, how about you go get your motorcycle, so we can go outside?" Jackson nodded again, and ran off to get his toy.

"All done!" Lily chirped from her seat. Amy turned around and saw the little girl smiling at her as she held up her toy horse. "Spa-fin hungry too!" Amy smiled as Lily made the horse eat the remaining Cheerios in her bowl.

"That's great, but don't you want to go see the real Spartan?" Amy asked her as she lifted her out of the booster seat.

"Yeeaahh!" Lily squealed, and started running to the back door.

"Hold on, you have to get your sneakers on," Amy said, and Lily froze, hands up in the air. Amy carried over her pink-and-purple sneakers as Lily sat down on the floor. After Amy, finished velcroing the last shoe, Lily stood up with her arms stretched out wide.

"Ready!" she replied. She was wearing black stretch pants and a white short-sleeve shirt with a rainbow unicorn on the front. Amy pulled Lily's blonde hair up in a quick ponytail and stood up. Jackson came running back into the kitchen right then, with his blue motorcycle in his hands. He was wearing toddler jeans, a red t-shirt with a black-and-red race car on it, and he was already wearing his blue-and-green sneakers.

"Ok, you're going to get in the stroller outside," Amy told them as she opened the back door. Jackson walked outside and immediately started climbing into the double, side-by-side stroller. Lily, on the other hand, started whining.

"No stroller! No stroller!" she begged as Amy led her outside. Amy put their sweatshirts in the basket of the stroller. It was warm, but overcast and the wind was starting to pick up. She was hoping the rain would hold off until later in the day. Amy picked up Lily and put her in the stroller, who immediately cried. "Noooo!"

"Sweetie, you have to go in the stroller because mommy is going to work with one of the horses," Amy explained. "And it's very important that you stay in one spot."

Lily sniffled as Amy buckled her in. "Okaaay," she whined, wiping tears from her eyes. After she buckled both twins into the stroller, Amy started pushing the stroller to the barn. She called to Lobo, and the husky obediently walked beside the stroller. Jackson smiled when he saw the dog, and stretched his arm out, so that his hand was grazing Lobo's fur as they walked.

Amy parked the stroller by the round pen. "Ok, you two, be good for mommy," she told the twins. Both smiled at her as they started to play with their toys. "Lobo, stay." The husky sat down slightly in front of the stroller, then lowered himself all the way down to the ground. Satisfied the twins were quiet and staying put, Amy picked up the lead rope that was draped over the fence and let herself into the round pen.

Inside, a bay gelding lay in the sand and watched her approach. When she was a few feet away, the Quarter Horse got to his feet and shook the sand from his body. The gelding was an ex-barrel racer turned lesson horse for kids. But lately, he has been acting sour and hard to handle. Amy suspected she knew what the problem was, she just hasn't had time to really work with him to prove it. Oakley nickered to her and walked the rest of the way to her. She clipped the lead rope onto his halter and started with neck flexes on both sides. Then, she had the gelding do turns on the forehand and hind-end. All through the exercises, Oakley was alert and interested. He didn't show any signs of bucking or any other bad behavior. Thus, proving Amy's theory further, that he was just bored of chauffeuring kids around a dusty arena. Though, it was still early in the session, anything could change.

Amy had just set up some ground poles and a small jump for the gelding, when there was a loud cry from outside the round pen. She sighed inwardly when she saw Lily clutching her arm and crying. Tying Oakley to the fence, Amy hurried out of the round pen and knelt down in front of the distraught two-year-old.

"Lily, what happened?" Amy asked her, pushing some stray strands of hair out of her face.

Lily sniffed loudly and then pointed, accusingly, at Jackson. "Jack, bite me!" she cried.

"She throw my toy!" Jackson said back. Amy looked behind her and saw the blue motorcycle lying in the grass a few feet away. She went to pick up the toy and then came back to the stroller.

"Jackson, we don't bite people, even if they take our toys," Amy scolded the little boy, who looked down, sadly.

"I sorry," he mumbled. Amy patted his leg, reassuringly, and put the toy motorcycle on his lap. That seemed to cheer him up, because picked up the toy and began making engine noises.

"It hurts!" Lily wailed, still gripping her arm. Amy gently pried Lily's fingers off her arm to take a look at the wound. The _wound_ was only a slight indentation of teeth marks, no blood, just a little bit of slobber. Amy gave her arm a good rub.

"You're fine," she assured her.

"He bad!" Lily pouted.

"Yes, he is, but you shouldn't have thrown his toy on the ground," Amy said. Lily got quiet right then. "Ok, I'm going back in the round pen, both you please be good." Both twins nodded, and Amy went back inside the round pen.

Oakley watched her as she approached and released him from his restraint. "Let's see what you can do," Amy said as she sent the gelding around the pen at a trot. The gelding hesitated once at the first ground pole, but took the rest confidently. He snorted and broke into a canter after landing on the other side of the small jump. Amy smiled and sent the gelding around again.

Oakley seemed to come alive as he cantered around. As small a course as this was, it was something he wouldn't have been able to do giving lessons to little kids. He wasn't misbehaving, he was trying to express to everybody that he was bored going around in circles. Oakley was used to the rodeo circuit, high-energy, something new each day, putting him in a school pony situation was a shock to him. Amy brought the gelding to a halt and walked over to him.

"You ready for something harder?" Amy asked the gelding as she clipped the lead rope to his halter. Oakley looked at her, his ears flicking forward, waiting to see what was going to happen next. She put her hands on the gelding's withers, preparing to mount up. She jumped and swung her leg over.

"Mommy! Mommy!"

Amy nearly lost her balance and landed back on her feet. She sighed out loud, letting out her frustration. Giving Oakley a pat, Amy released him so he could have free range of the round pen. She draped the lead rope over the rail as she opened the gate and closed it behind her. Nothing seemed to be wrong as she walked over to the stroller. Jackson was sitting unusually still and Lily was still calling to her.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Amy asked.

Lily pointed to Jackson and said, "Jack pee-peed."

Amy looked at her son, and confirmed what Lily had said. She could see a big wet spot in the front of Jackson's jeans. Amy ran a hand through her hair and sighed. There goes her session with Oakley, and any other horse she wanted to work with today. By the time she could get Jackson changed and clean the stroller, it would be lunchtime and then time for the twins' nap. She could go out while they were asleep, but it usually takes about a half hour to get them settled down and then she would only have an hour free.

"I sorry, mommy," Jackson broke her out of her thoughts. Amy looked down at him and saw that his eyes were glassy with unshed tears. He didn't like having an accident just as much as she didn't. Amy couldn't blame him either, she was the one who was in such a rush to get outside that she neglected to ask if either one of them needed to go potty.

"It's okay," Amy assured him.

As Amy started pushing the stroller back to the ranch house, with Lobo right on her heels, she heard a low growl of thunder from off in the distance. She looked up at the sky, which had darkened significantly, hoping the storm would just pass. But as she grew closer to the house, a sinking feeling formed in the pit of her stomach.

**~OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~**

After lunch, Amy stood at the back door of the ranch house, staring out as the rain came down in sheets. The sounds of the twins playing in the living room filtered in to her, but it seemed like she was only half there. The other half of her was stuck in the past with the girl, who was once called, a miracle. She missed being with the horses all day, uncovering their secrets, feeling a connection to a creature twice the size of her. Amy didn't regret her marriage or the twins, she just wished...

"Mommy, why you crying?" came Lily's voice.

Amy touched her cheeks, feeling that they were wet. She hadn't even known she was crying. Wiping the tears away, Amy looked down at the two-year-old. Lily was holding her brown stuffed pony in her arms, looking like she could fall asleep right there.

"Nothing, I'm fine," Amy said. She turned her head and saw Jackson standing in the kitchen doorway, rubbing his eyes. "Are you two ready for a nap?" Both twins nodded, surprisingly. Amy picked up Lily and held Jackson's hand as she headed for the stairs.

As Amy tucked the toddlers into their beds, she pushed all thoughts of her old life out of her head. Instead, she focused on what her life was now. She had a wonderful, loving husband and two great children. She would just have to figure out how horses could fit into her new life. Because Amy wasn't willing to give all this up or she thought she wasn't.

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**A/N:** So...what do you guys think of this chapter? I hope you guys didn't think this story would be all happy and fluffy. I have to put a little drama into it. Anyway, please review! Reviews make me update faster! :)


	4. Taking the Next Step

**A/N: **I can't say thank you enough for all the lovely reviews I keep getting. Really, they mean so much to me and you guys are what really keeps this story going. So, thank you again and I hope you like this chapter. :)

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**Chapter Four**

**Taking the Next Step**

Rebecca tiptoed out of her bedroom at the Heartland ranch house, and closed the door quietly behind her, wincing as it shut with a loud click. She breathed a low sigh of relief when there was no cry from the other side of the door. For a two-year-old, AJ was well-behaved, Rebecca rarely had to tell him no for anything, but he had one flaw. He didn't like sleeping alone. So, AJ slept with her every night, which was fine since there wasn't enough room for a toddler bed in the room. Though, she didn't know what she was going to do when she finally got her own apartment, and AJ got his own room.

Making her way to the living room, Rebecca plopped down on the couch, unsure what do with herself. Nobody else was around, and she didn't want to stray too far, for when AJ wakes up. She could watch TV, but she was afraid the sound would be to loud. Rebecca picked up a magazine, flipped through it real fast, then put it back down on the coffee table. She decided to take a shower instead, thinking she wouldn't get a chance to later.

As Rebecca walked to the bathroom, her cell phone buzzed from inside her pocket. She stopped to take out her phone, but by the time she looked at, the call had already transferred to her missed call list. She frowned, but it was just as well, because she didn't recognize the number. It was probably just a wrong number anyway. Rebecca hurried into the bathroom, before AJ decided he only wanted to sleep for fifteen minutes.

Ten minutes later, Rebecca shut off the water and stepped out of the shower, wrapping a soft, white towel around her body. She shook out her hair with another towel and stepped up to the sink. Wiping off the steam that collected on the mirror, Rebecca began combing through her long, brown hair. It had grown long past her shoulders in the two years since AJ was born. She fingered the ends, thinking of the last time it was this long. It was right before her mother got sick, Rebecca was seven and she remembered sitting on her mother's hospital bed. Her mother would spend hours just brushing her hair, humming softly to both of them. She had once told her to never cut her hair, to leave it as long and as lovely as it was. Rebecca hadn't said anything, just reveled in the moment of being with her mother.

Once her mother had died, Rebecca could stand looking in the mirror and being reminded of the mother she lost. So, she took her little school kit scissors, and chopped at it until it hung lopsided just above her shoulders. Her father had only looked at her as if he'd never seen her before. It wasn't until a few years later, she was able to get it cut right, by then she didn't care. Rebecca blinked and she was back in the Heartland bathroom, looking at her dripping self in the mirror. She turned away from the mirror and slipped on pair of black yoga pants, and a soft, cotton, sky-blue, long-sleeve shirt.

Rebecca was only a few feet out of the bathroom, when she heard the front door open and then a very, loud voice. "Becky, you here?!" Caleb called. "I've got some exciting news to tell ya!" Rebecca winced and ran to the kitchen, before he woke up AJ with his _big news._

"Shhh, AJ is sleeping," Rebecca told him, in an adamant whisper. "I want him to sleep as long as he can."

"Sorry, sorry, I'm just really excited," Caleb apologized.

"What's going on?" Rebecca asked, smiling, and wondering what has gotten him so wound up.

"A friend of mine and I are going into business together," Caleb explained. "We're going to buy reasonably, low-priced horses, train them to be a rodeo horse, then sell them for a big payoff at the end. He's going to put out the money for the horses, and I'm going to do most of the training. We'll split the profits evenly. What do you think?"

"I think it sounds great," Rebecca said, sitting down at the kitchen table.

"Yeah, it is," Caleb replied, sitting down across from her. He took her hands in his. "There's an auction coming up in Montana, and I want you to come with me. We'll spend a few days down there, you could sing some of your songs at the local pubs. You said, you wanted to get back into your music. It's the perfect time!"

Rebecca bit her lip, hesitating. "It sounds like an amazing trip, but what am I supposed to do with AJ? I can't leave him for that long." she declined.

"No, of course not," Caleb agreed. "He'll come with us."

Rebecca thought for a moment. "Are you sure?" she asked him.

Caleb nodded, eagerly. "So, what do you say?"

"I say...when do we leave?" Rebecca responded.

"In a week," Caleb grinned, standing up and pulling Rebecca up with him. She bit her lip as the space between them disappeared, and their lips met in a soft, sultry kiss. Rebecca wrapped her arms around Caleb's neck, and she walked backwards until she hit the kitchen counter. Caleb lifted her up, so that she was sitting up on the counter. They were eye to eye now as they broke apart for a second.

"I love you," Caleb said, his voice low and husky.

"I love you, too." Rebecca replied as she leaned forward for another kiss. Caleb obliged and they surrendered themselves to each other. The kiss intensified as their passion and love took control. Caleb trailed kisses down her neck and Rebecca leaned her head back, eyes closed. She grabbed a handful of his shirt when he came to her sweet spot right behind her ear, and she gasped out loud.

Suddenly, there was a noise like someone clearing their throat, and Rebecca spotted a shadow over Caleb's shoulder. Rebecca pulled back, abruptly, causing Caleb to spin around. Jack stood in the doorway of the kitchen, watching the two of them. Rebecca felt a blush creep up her face as Caleb bent down to retrieve his hat, that must have fallen off at some point.

"Sorry, Jack, we were just..." Caleb said as Rebecca slid, discreetly, off the counter.

"I saw what you were just doing," Jack interrupted him, stepping further into the kitchen. "And I don't recall paying you for that."

Rebecca's blush deepened.

"But there is a truckload of hay outside, waiting to be unloaded, that I can pay you for, if you still want the money." Jack continued.

"Yes, sir, I'll get right on that," Caleb said, then he turned to Rebecca, his hand grazing her arm. "I'll see you later."

Rebecca nodded. "I'll bring AJ out, when he wakes up." she told him. With a chaste kiss on the cheek, Caleb hurried outside, sparing a glance at Jack as he passed him. Rebecca glanced uncomfortably at Jack, crossing her arms over her chest. Jack looked at her and then, walked to the desk to shuffle through some papers.

"I'm going to check on AJ," Rebecca finally said, and didn't wait for Jack to respond. She ran from the kitchen, and didn't stop until she reached her bedroom door, breathing a loud sigh of relief.

**~OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~**

" 'ere goin, mommy?" AJ asked, as Rebecca carried him outside. Rebecca stopped and hefted the two-year-old higher on her hip. He was growing more and more every day, and each day Rebecca wished time would slow down, so that she could keep him this little longer. Today, the toddler wore black sweatpants with a white and navy-blue sports 'jersey', and a navy-blue fleece jacket over top. AJ started swinging his legs as Rebecca started walking again.

"We're going to get some fresh air," Rebecca answered, breathing in the clean, country air. AJ copied her, and she laughed when he inhaled a little too much and coughed it back out again. Suddenly, AJ shot out his hand, pointing to something across the yard.

"Caleb!" AJ squealed.

Rebecca looked up and, sure enough, saw Caleb across the yard. He had finished moving the hay and was now chopping some firewood for Jack. "Do you want to go say hi?" Rebecca asked, looking back down at AJ and brush some of his dark hair out of his eyes. AJ nodded his head eagerly, and started to squirm in her arms. She set him down on his feet, and the toddler took off running toward Caleb, hollering his name.

Rebecca watched as Caleb stopped mid-swing and looked up to see who was calling him. A huge grin split his face when he saw AJ running toward him and he dropped the ax. AJ ran into his arms and the cowboy picked the little boy up and spun him around in the air. The two-year-old's laugh was loud and brought a smile to Rebecca's face as she watched. Seeing her little boy so happy with Caleb, warmed her heart. AJ didn't know what he was missing by not having a father in his life. Though, Rebecca worried about what she would say when AJ got older and started asking questions about his real father, but she would deal with it then.

"Mommy!"

Rebecca broke out of her thoughts and looked up. AJ was standing in front of Caleb with his hands on the ax, Caleb had been using. He waved at her, then turned back to what he was doing. With Caleb's help, they lifted the ax and then heaved it down on the log. It split into two, and both pieces clattered to the ground. AJ's face was a mix of excitement and pride and he ran over to Rebecca when she approached.

"Mommy, see that?" he said, excitedly. He pointed back to the wood pile and then ran back over to it. AJ began swinging his arms like his still held the ax, showing her what he had done. "Chop it. Wood fall down. We did it!"

"And you did so good," Rebecca praised, holding her hand out for a high-five. AJ slapped her hand energetically, and it actually stung a little. "Ow." AJ giggled and covered his mouth with his hand as Rebecca shook it out.

"Hi, AJ," came Georgie's voice as the fourteen-year-old walked up to them. She still wore her book-bag on her back, since she'd just gotten off the bus. AJ gave her a small wave and preceded to go into the whole story of chopping the wood in his two-year-old babble. "Wow, that sounds so cool." AJ's smile got even bigger when the older girl complimented him.

"Where is everybody else?" Georgie asked Caleb and Rebecca.

Rebecca shrugged, while Caleb answered, "Jack's in the barn, Lou is picking up Katie from school, then picking something up for dinner. Oh, and Peter is working."

"Okay," Georgie started to skip off to the barn, but stopped and turned back around. "Hey, AJ, do you want to help me brush Phoenix?" When AJ nodded enthusiastically, Georgie looked at Rebecca. "Can he?"

Rebecca nodded. "Yeah, AJ, you be good and listen to Georgie," she told him.

"Ok, mommy," AJ said as Georgie took his hand.

"We'll be along in a few minutes!" Rebecca called as the two started walking to the barn. Caleb's arms snaked around her waist, causing her to jump a little.

"Now, that they're gone..." Caleb whispered, nuzzling her neck.

Rebecca ducked away and turned around to face him. "Really? After getting busted by Jack in the kitchen, you're still in the mood?" she questioned him.

"Hey, I can't just turn it off," Caleb said, with a grin. "Especially, when you come around looking like you do."

Suppressing a grin, Rebecca smacked his arm. "Ok, first, I'm wearing sweats right now. Second, we are in the middle of a ranch, with Jack right inside the barn." she told him.

Caleb seemed to think about it for a minute, until Rebecca hit him again, laughing a little. "Okay, okay," Caleb laughed. "But I am glad we're alone, because there was something else I wanted to ask you." Rebecca placed her hands on his arms, which were still around her waist, as she waited for him to continue.

"Well,..." Caleb cleared his throat, then continued, "We've been going out for about two years now, and I think it's time, we took our relationship to the next level. I want you and AJ to move in with me."

Rebecca tried, and failed, to stop the laugh that burst out of her. A look of confusion and hurt flashed across Caleb's face, so Rebecca hurried to explain. "I'm sorry, it's just—did you really say you want me and a _two-year-old _to move into your rinky-dink trailer, no offense?"

"Well, maybe, not the trailer," Caleb said, after thinking for a moment. "But we could find an apartment together? I'm ready to move on to the next phase of my life and I want you and AJ to be a part of it."

Rebecca smiled, not wanting to hurt him. "I really do appreciate the offer," Rebecca said, and she could see his face start to fall. She reached up to touch his face. "But I think it's time I stood on my own two feet. This arrangement, me living at Heartland, was only supposed to be temporarily. I need to start providing for my son. I've saved up enough money now to pay for a decent apartment. In fact, I've talked to somebody, who has two available rooms and she agreed to let me come look at them. I was hoping you'll come with me?"

"I want to help you in anyway that I can," Caleb replied. "You're not alone in this."

"I know that," Rebecca said. And she did. Caleb had been amazing these past two years, not once did he say he'd had enough. During that the first week after AJ was born, Rebecca had been in a tough place, with Adam disappearing, and wasn't sure if she had wanted to be AJ's mother. Thanks to Caleb, she knew that she could raise AJ, with or without help. "But this is something I have to do. I need to know I can still take care of myself and a child. But, just because we're not moving in together, doesn't me we can't have sleepovers. I mean, I think AJ would be disappointed, if he didn't get to see you everyday." She bit her lip, hoping Caleb took the hint. He did.

"Well, we can't disappoint that little kid," Caleb said, leaning in closer. They sealed it with a kiss, not as intense as before, but still as sweet and passionate. They didn't stop until they heard Phoenix snort loudly from inside the barn, then AJ's little voice.

"Ew! Horsie boogies!"

Rebecca and Caleb laughed, and they started walking toward the barn to see the fun they were missing out on. Their arms stayed around each other, Rebecca even rested her head on Caleb's shoulder as they walked. She was so happy and content, she didn't want this feeling to go away.

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**A/N: **How was it? Please review, and tell me your thoughts! :)


	5. A Royal Offer

**A/N: **I'm going to make this short and sweet, because I kept you waiting for so long. Thanks again for all the reviews. :)

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**Chapter Five**

**A Royal Offer**

"Moo-viee! Moo-viee! Moo-viee!"

The twins chanted loudly as they drummed their little fists on the table. Amy stood in front of the microwave, waiting for the popcorn to finish popping. They were having a movie night tonight, one of their weekly traditions. It was the one time that guaranteed the twins wouldn't put up a fight about getting their pajamas on and going to bed. Amy glanced over at Ty, who was pouring milk into two identical sippy cups, one purple and one green.

"Gee, do you think they're excited?" Amy couldn't help, but ask with a laugh.

"I don't know, I can't hear over the shouting," Ty said, smiling, as he screwed on the tops of the sippy cups. Amy laughed.

Lily and Jackson didn't get the whole meaning of family movie night, they just knew they got to have a treat and sleep in mommy and daddy's bed. Bath-time went by fast and smoothly, because of their excitement. They both picked out their favorite pajamas to wear; Lily's purple _My Little Pony _jammies and Jackson's green camo jammies. Now, they sat at the table, impatiently waiting to start the movie. The microwave beeped, and the twins cheered, each saying they wanted a piece of popcorn now.

"Hold on, it's really hot right now," Amy told them as she opened the steaming bag of popcorn and poured it into a blue, plastic bowl.

"How about we go upstairs and start this movie already?" Ty suggested, coming around the island to the twins.

"Yeeeaaahhh!" both twins exclaimed as they scrambled down from their chairs. Lily insisted that she walk on her own, but Jackson wanted to be carried. Ty handed him his cup to hold and picked him with one arm. Amy started to follow them with the popcorn bowl when her cell phone started to ring. She pulled out her phone and recognized the number immediately, even though it's been a long while since she talked to this person.

"I'll be up in a minute!" Amy called to Ty. Ty peeked back into the kitchen and nodded, before turning his attention back to Lily, who was already climbing the stairs by herself. After they had disappeared up the stairs, Amy answered the phone.

"Hello?" she said.

"Hello, Amy?" came a familiar, Indian accent. "I'm sorry to be calling so late."

"No, it's fine," Amy smiled, even though he couldn't see it. "Ahmed, how are you? I haven't heard from you in a long time."

"I am fine, thank you for asking," Ahmed replied, and she could tell he was smiling as well. "I trust, you are fine as well?"

"Well, yeah, a little stressful," Amy admitted. "But that comes with the territory, right?"

"Right, the new family," Ahmed said. There was a small pause before he continued, "Listen, Amy, I don't want to keep you, I just wanted to ask if we could meet up someplace tomorrow? I have a proposition for you."

"What kind of proposition?" Amy asked, curiously.

"Ah, you'll have to wait for tomorrow, if you'll agree to meet me. I would like to do this properly." Ahmed said. "So, what do you say?"

Amy hesitated for a moment, then said, "Okay, ok, I'll meet you," They spent the next five minutes, hashing out the details, when and where they should meet. By the time, Amy hung up the phone, she wasn't sure what she was feeling. She was anxious to know what Ahmed wanted, but then again, she hadn't heard from the prince in two years and now, all of a sudden, he calls her, wanting to talk to her. Amy shook her head, deciding not to think about that right now.

As Amy ascended the staircase with the bowl of popcorn in her hands, she could hear the beginning of the movie the twins had chosen, _Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron._ It was one of their favorites, the one they could actually agree on. When she came into her and Ty's room, Lily was lying at the foot of the bed, on her belly, kicking her feet through the air.

"Mommy, look!" Lily exclaimed, pointing at the television. "Spirit comin!"

Amy looked at the TV, just in time to see the palomino mare in the midst of labor. They had both seen the movie enough times, to know the buckskin foal, to be named, Spirit, was coming. Ty smiled at her as she placed the popcorn bowl and crawled onto the bed next to him and Jackson, who was lying cuddled next to his daddy. Both twins lunged for the popcorn bowl at the same and it would have spilled if Ty hadn't caught it in time. They each sat on one side of the bowl, stuffing popcorn into their little mouths and staring at the TV.

"So, who was on the phone?" Ty asked, when they were settled back against the pillows again, his arm holding her close.

"Oh, it was Ahmed, if you can believe it," Amy answered, popping a piece of popcorn into her mouth.

Ty's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Really? You haven't heard from him in years," Ty stated what she already knew. "What did he want?"

"I don't know," Amy said. "He wants to meet tomorrow and discuss something with me. I agreed to meet him at Maggie's after lunch. That's okay, isn't it?"

"Of course it is," Ty told her. "I should be done work by then, so you don't have to worry about what do with the kids."

"Have I told you how wonderful you are, lately?" Amy asked him, snuggling deeper into him.

Ty thought about it for moment, then said, "Not that I can remember." He grinned as leaned down and captured her lips with his. The kiss was sweet and innocent at first, then their passion took control. Amy hooked her arm around Ty's neck, her fingers sliding through his hair. She pulled him down on top of her, forgetting for the moment that they weren't alone. Ty hands roamed up down her sides, pushing up her shirt. She moaned deep into his mouth, not wanting him to stop. But childish laughter brought them back to reality, and Ty sat back up, leaving Amy suddenly cold without his body heat to warm her. Amy sat up as well.

Lily and Jackson were pointing and laughing at the scene, where Spirit was sliding down the snow-covered mountain and spraying the other horses with snow. Amy and Ty smiled as the twins, who were now lying on their bellies at the foot of the bed, watching the movie they've seen at least ten times. Ty lied back down against the pillows pulling Amy down with him, his arms around her tightly. Amy laid her head on his shoulder, resting her hand on his chest. She felt his lips brush her temple and Amy closed her eyes, a sigh of contentment escaping her lips. Ahmed and whatever he wanted to tell her was the furtherest thing from her mind as she lay in bed with her husband and children.

**~OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~**

The next morning dawned clear and sunny with the smell of pancakes in the air. Ty was at the stove, flipping some and Lily was in her booster seat, shoving as much as she could into her mouth. Amy told her to slow down before she choked, and Lily only looked up at her with her big, green eyes and sticky syrup around her mouth. Amy laughed and pulled the two-year-old's hair back into a ponytail, before the syrup ended up there as well. Lily squirmed away from her hands, wanting to continue eating her breakfast.

"Jackson, come in here and get your pancakes before your sister eats them all!" Ty called to the little boy as he put a new plate down on the table. Lily seemed to eye the new plate hungrily. "Hey, you still have a pancake on your plate. You eat that, then you can have more." Lily beamed and put another forkful in her mouth.

Meanwhile, the sounds of a child imitating fire trucks and police cars were coming from the living room, where Jackson was playing. "I'll go get him," Amy told Ty as she started to leave the kitchen.

Jackson was sitting in the middle of the living room floor, a fire truck in one hand and a police car in the other. He made the sounds of the sirens as he pushed them over to where Lobo lay, sprawled out. Amy watched as he unfolded the ladder from the top of the fire truck and put it up to the dog's belly. He, then, had his little fireman climb the ladder and 'walk' along Lobo and 'look' into the dog's ears and eyes. All the while, Lobo was aware of the toddler, but didn't move and allowed him to do whatever to him.

"Hey, Jack, what are you doing?" Amy asked him as she came over and knelt down in front of him. Jackson looked up at her and pointed at Lobo.

"Doggie hurt," he answered.

"He is?!" Amy feigned surprise. "Are you going to fix him?"

Jackson nodded. "Like daddy," he replied.

Amy smiled as Jackson went back to 'fixing' Lobo, which really just meant, touching different parts of the dog with the toy fireman. When he finished, Jackson dropped the toy on the floor and held out his hands.

"All better!" Jackson said, all proud of himself.

"That's great!" Amy replied, sharing in his excitement. "Would the brave doctor like some pancakes now?"

Jackson nodded, excitedly, and scrambled to his feet. Amy followed him into the kitchen and lifted him into his booster seat. He picked up his fork and started eating vigorously. Amy and Ty had just sat down with their own plates, when Lily dropped her fork onto the table.

"All done!" Lily announced. "I play now." She started to, unsuccessfully, unbuckle herself from the booster seat.

"I thought you wanted more?" Amy asked her.

Lily shook her head. "I full," she said, patting her belly.

"Okay, sit there until we're all done and you can get cleaned up," Amy told her. Lily gave a small whine and pouted, but slouched back in her seat, waiting.

"So, what time are you meeting with Ahmed, today?" Ty asked, after he took a bite of pancake.

"Around two o'clock," Amy answered as she used her fork to cut her pancake into bite-size pieces. Ty nodded, and continued eating. They ate their breakfast in companionable silence with occasional chitchat. At times, Jackson put in his two senses as well and Lily started banging her legs against her seat in impatience.

After the table was cleared and the kids were cleaned, Amy stood in the living room, kissing Ty goodbye. A part of her didn't want Ty to leave, but another part wanted him to hurry up and go, so that she could find out what Ahmed had wanted. They shared one more kiss and then Ty pulled away.

"I really have to go," he said, picking up his vet bag. Amy just nodded as he headed for the door. "I'll be back soon."

Just then, Lily and Jackson came running into the room, crying for a kiss and a hug. Ty knelt down and hugged and kissed both of them. He straightened back up, putting his bag over his shoulder. Amy came over to hold the twins back, before they decided to follow him out the door. Ty leaned over and kissed her on the cheek and Amy smiled.

"I love you," she said.

"I love you, too."

**~OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~**

Later that afternoon, Amy walked into Maggie's and looked around. She spotted Ahmed immediately, sitting at a table by one of the windows. He sat, staring out the window, but he looked up when he heard Amy approach. Ahmed smiled the warm, easygoing smile Amy remembered and he stood up to greet her.

"Amy, hello, I'm glad you could make it," Ahmed said, taking her hand in his. "I see motherhood has treated you well."

Amy smiled as she shook his hand. "Thank you, and I have to say, I was curious to know why you called out of the blue," Amy replied as they both sat down.

"Before we get into that, can I get you anything?" Ahmed asked her, ever the gentleman.

"Oh, just a water will be fine," Amy answered. Ahmed got up to go put in her order and was back at the table in less than a minute. "So, what is it?"

Ahmed gave a short laugh. "I see you haven't changed that much," he noted. "Ok, since you left my stable, things haven't been the same. Zeus is fine, but I've gotten a couple of new, young horses and their training has hit a wall."

"What do you mean?" Amy asked.

"I mean, I want you to come back and work for me again," Ahmed answered, clasping his hands together on the table in front of him.

Amy was surprised and didn't know what to say at first. "Um—I..." she stumbled over her words, trying to find the right ones to say. "I don't know. It's not really the right time right now."

"Of course," Ahmed said, a little to understanding. "You have your twins, and I heard you started your own ranch. Miracle ranch, is it called?" Amy nodded. "Your barn is probably full to capacity with everybody wanting you to help their horses. I was selfish to think you'll actually have time to work for me."

"No, that's not it," Amy corrected him. She thanked the waitress, when she set the glass of water down in front of her. "Actually, I don't have a lot of paying customers at the moment. The twins take up most of my free time."

"You wouldn't have to come everyday," Ahmed persuaded. "A few hours a week will be fine with me. If you're interested?"

"Well, of course, I'm interested," Amy grinned. "But I'll have to talk to Ty first. We'll have to figure out how everything can work, what to do with the twins and such."

"Of course, take all the time you need," Ahmed said, giving her a wide smile. "Though, I have to say, I would like to have you on my staff again, and I hope you decide to come back."

Amy smiled back, wanting to tell him yes. But she knew, she had to talk Ty first before she made any big decisions. Though, she had to admit, it was tempting. She had just been wanting to find a way to go back to working with horses, and then Ahmed's offer just falls into her lap. It was almost too good to be true. Amy hoped they would figure out a way for her to take this job. Ty would want her to take it, wouldn't he?

**~OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~**

"I think you should take it," Ty said, later that night as the two of them cleaned up the kitchen after dinner. Lily and Jackson were in the living room, playing nicely together. Ty handed her two dirty plates he'd picked up from the table. Amy took the plates from him and put them in their places in the dishwasher.

"Are you sure?" Amy asked, when she straightened back up. "I mean, it'll only be a few hours a week, but what will we do with the twins?"

"Well, I can take them for the afternoon for now," Ty answered easily. "But we should probably think about hiring somebody to look after them for when I get called out on an emergency."

"You mean like a nanny?" Amy questioned, picking up some utensils from the sink and putting them in the dishwasher as well. "But I thought we agreed, we weren't going to have our kids raised by other people.

"Amy, we have to be realistic," Ty said. He put down Lily's plate he'd been in the middle of scraping food off of into the trashcan and came over to her. "There's going to be times when I have leave on short notice, and if you're going to be working someplace else, we have know the twins are going to be taken care of. And we can't just drop them off on Jack or Lou at the last minute."

"You're right," Amy gave in. "You're right, it's the best solution. I'm sure, we can find someone, who can fit into our lives."

"See, and Lily and Jackson will just see it as their getting a new playmate," Ty laughed, assuring her more. Amy laughed with him, thinking that the twins would probably think that. Ty put his arms around her and pulled her close. He gave her a light peck on the lips, before saying, "You know, I just want you to be happy, right?"

"I know," Amy said, laying her head against Ty's chest and breathing in his familiar scent. "And I am." She looked up at him and gave him a smile.

"Good," Ty replied, capturing her lips with his again. The kiss only lasted half a minute, when fighting erupted from the next room. They broke apart, smiling. "It was only a matter of time before they started again. I'll go settle that and you call the prince, you can't keep His Royal Highness waiting with your answer."

Amy watched him leave and heard him start to distract the toddlers from their little disagreement. Finally, she pulled out her phone and punched in Ahmed's number. "Hello, Ahmed? It's Amy,... yeah, I'm fine. I just wanted to tell you that I've made my decision. I'll take the job."

* * *

**A/N: **Again, I apologize for the long wait and I promise the next chapter will be up sooner. Please review! :)


	6. Daddy Daycare

**A/N: **I'm really sorry it took me so long to post this chapter. I didn't mean to keep you waiting. But I would like everyone to take a deep breath. Just because I added one teeny character to this story does not mean it's ruin. It really hurt when some of you said that. I wish I could reply to each of you separately, but most of you signed in as guests, so I'll say it here. Ahmed is **not** going to be major character in this story. Most of the chapters to come, will be Ahmed-free, he'll just flicker in and out, like a ghost, throughout the story. He is not the villain or antagonist in this story, he is a minor _minor _character. I want everyone to stop assuming that you know what's going to happen just because I put one character in. Please trust me when I say that I know where I'm going with this story, I have a plan and Ahmed is only on the side. He's not really that essential to the story, I just needed him to do one thing, that's all. So what, Ahmed gave Amy a job, I never said that Amy couldn't find more work on her own. It was just this opportunity fell into her lap during a time when she felt like she was losing the life she had before the kids came around and she grabbed it. It really hurts and angers me when people say that I've ruined a wonderful story by reusing an old storyline, which I am not, I know what I'm doing. Please don't give up on this story, you won't regret it. Ok, I'm done now. Enjoy this chapter. :)

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**Chapter Six**

**Daddy Daycare**

Ty grunted as he tightened a part on his truck's engine, from where he was hunched over the hood. It's been a week and a half since Amy took Ahmed's offer and everything's gone relatively good so far. They've hired a part-time nanny; Jessica was a twenty-one-year-old, fresh out of college, where she studied child psychology and development. The twins seemed to really like her, especially since she always plays games with them and she never yells. Every night after Jessica leaves, they ask when she's coming back. Amy was happier now too, Ty could see it. When she was home, she enjoyed the twins more and generally seemed less stressed.

Straightening up, Ty wiped his hands on a towel he had thrown over his shoulder and put the hood of the truck down. Just as he did, he heard the sound of crying. When Ty turned around, he saw Jessica, her thick, black hair pulled into a low ponytail that was draped over one shoulder, approaching carrying a very upset Lily. Ty put the towel down and met them halfway. Lily held her arms out when she saw her daddy, her cries getting more hysterical.

"What happened?" Ty asked, looking at Lily, but really addressing Jessica.

"There was an accident," Jessica started to explain. "Lily took one of Jackson's toys, and Jackson retaliated by pushing Lily off the couch. I checked her over and she looked fine to me, but she keeps saying her arms hurts from where she banged it against the coffee table. She said, she wanted her daddy to make it feel better."

Ty gave her hug and then sat her up on the hood of his truck. "Where does it hurt?" he asked Lily. She coughed from her hysterics and pointed to her left arm, right above her elbow. It was only a small scrape, no blood. "Oh, that tiny thing," Ty said, his voice light. He dropped a kiss on her arm, and wiped her tears from her face. "You're okay." Lily sniffed loudly, and wrapped her arms around Ty. She sighed into his shirt as he hugged her back.

There was a tug on Ty's jeans and then came a small voice. "I sorry, daddy," Jackson said, his voice low. He looked down at the ground when he said it as if he couldn't look up at him. Ty let go of Lily and lifted Jackson up, so that he was sitting on the truck as well. Lily whined and scooted away from her brother.

"Jack, you know, we don't push others, especially off the furniture," Ty said sternly, lifting up the little boy's chin, so that he was looking at him.

Jackson nodded, wiping his eyes. "She took...my toy!" he exclaimed, pointing at Lily. "I get mad!"

"Then you come tell me or Jessica, you don't hit or push," Ty told his son. Jackson nodded again. "Now, tell your sister you're sorry and give her a hug and a kiss."

Jackson wrapped his arms around his sister, who whined again, but hugged him back. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and said, "I sorry."

"That's my good boy," Ty replied, ruffling Jackson's blonde hair. "Hey, I have an idea. How about we get out of here and go for a drive?" His question was met by cheers. Ty smiled and put them down, one by one, on the ground.

"I was going to ask," Jessica spoke up. Ty looked over at her. "If I could have the rest of the day off? My boyfriend is coming in from out-of-town and I wanted to meet him at the airport."

"Yeah, sure, go ahead," Ty answered. "Thank you for all you help. We really appreciate everything you've done for us."

"It's really no trouble at all. They're both wonderful," Jessica said, smiling down at the twins. "Here are their sweatshirts and they've both gone potty recently." She handed Ty the two sweatshirts.

After catching wind that Jessica was leaving, both twins rushed over to her, throwing their arms around her legs. They begged her to stay and Jessica laughed, kneeling down to their level. "I'll be back in two days, I promise." she told them, even though they didn't quite understand time. She gave them each a hug and stood up when Ty came over to pry them away from her.

When Jessica left, Ty put on the twins' sweatshirts and lifted them into their car seats in the truck. Normally, Ty and Amy would take them in the SUV they bought shortly after the twins were born, but seeing as Amy had taken that car to work, Ty was stuck with the truck. The twins were silent as Ty jumped into the truck and turned it on. He backed down the driveway and turned onto the road, not sure where exactly they were going.

**~OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~**

Fifteen minutes later, Ty unloaded Lily and Jackson from the truck in front of Caleb's trailer. Jackson immediately went over to a yellow, toy tractor that must have been left by AJ, and started playing with it. Lily stayed next to Ty and slipped her little hand into his after Ty shut the truck door. The trailer door creaked open and Caleb stepped out onto the porch.

"Well, you're not who I was expecting," Caleb said, leaning against the wooden post of the sun porch.

"Sorry to disappoint you," Ty replied as he approached with Lily in hand. "But we were going for a drive, and I thought we'd stop by. You don't mind, do you?"

"Of course not," Caleb said, shaking his head. "It'll make it easier on Becky, now, she won't have to drive up to your place."

Ty furrowed his brow for a moment. "What do you mean? Was she going to stop by today?" he asked. Lily started tugging on his hand, so he let go of her. Lily plopped down on the deck and started making her toy horse 'gallop' on the deck.

Caleb seemed to notice his mistake. "Whoops, guess she didn't ask you yet." he said.

"Ask me what?" Ty asked, completely curious now.

Caleb hesitated at first, unsure if he should say it now or not. "Okay, you know that Rebecca's been looking for her own place." Ty nodded. "Well, she's found a place and she wants me to come with her to check it out. The thing is, it's really hard to look at everything you need to look at with a two-year-old running around..." Caleb let the sentence dangle between them.

"So, you wanted to know if I could watch AJ?" Ty finished the sentence for him.

"Could you?" Caleb asked. "It will only be for an hour, at least."

"Alright, sure," Ty answered after a moment in thought. He walked over and sat down on the couch. "So, how did your trip with my sister go anyway?"

Caleb grinned. "It went really well," he explained. "I was able to buy two horses, and Jack is allowing me to keep them at Heartland, for a small price, while I train them. As for me and Becky, I think the trip brought us a lot closer."

"I'm happy for you, man," Ty said, honestly. "You may be my friend though, but Becky is my sister and if you hurt her, I'll have to hurt you. Understand?"

"Completely," Caleb replied, grimacing.

Caleb sat down next to Ty on the couch and the two talked and laughed as they watched Lily and Jackson play. Lily had stuck her toy horse halfway in the dirt and Jackson was using the toy tractor and a piece of string to pull the horse out. It was cute, the small games they could come up with. About eight minutes later, Rebecca's royal blue car pulled up behind Ty's truck. As soon as Rebecca lifted AJ from the car, the two-year-old took off running toward the twins, to join in their playing.

"Hey, sis!" Ty greeted her. "Sure, I'll watch your kid for you!"

Rebecca ducked her head as she approached the two guys. "I'm sorry, I meant to call you last night," Rebecca apologized. "But AJ didn't go to sleep til late last night and by the time he did, I was half-asleep myself."

"It's no problem, really," Ty told her, smiling easily. "I was just looking for something to do with the twins, maybe we'll go out for lunch."

"That sounds good," Rebecca said, then she turned to Caleb. "You ready?"

Caleb nodded and stood up. "Sure am."

Ty watched Rebecca say goodbye to AJ and then she and Caleb climbed into his pickup truck. He waved as they backed down the driveway and onto the road. Ty looked over at the kids, deciding to give them a few more minutes of playtime before he left too.

**~OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~**

At lunchtime, Ty sat at a table inside Maggie's with the three toddlers. The three of them sat in booster seats, coloring quietly on the kid's paper menus as they waited for their grilled cheese sandwiches. As Ty settled a small dispute over a red crayon between Lily and AJ, his phone buzzed with a new text message. The phone vibrated against the table, causing Jackson, who was sitting on Ty's right, to stare at it. He, then, pointed at it with the green crayon in his hand.

"Phone, daddy," Jackson said.

"Thanks, Jack," Ty smiled at the little boy and picked up the phone. Jackson watched him as he looked at the message. It was from Amy.

_Be home in 30 mins., I'm not alone._

_;)_

"Who that?" Jackson asked, before Ty could even try to contemplate what Amy meant. Ty quickly typed out a reply, telling Amy where they were and that they would probably be home around the same time. He slid his phone into his pocket and looked up at his son.

"That was mommy," Ty said to him. "Right after we finish our lunch, mommy's going to be home, and I think she might have a surprise."

"A prize?!" Lily exclaimed, dropping her crayon.

"That's right," Ty told her. "So, eat all your lunch and you can see what it is."

Lily beamed just as the waitress brought over the three grilled-cheese sandwiches. After Ty cut the sandwiches so that they were easier to eat, all three toddlers dug in.

About ten minutes later, they were all finished. The boys had cleaned their plates, while Lily had left one bite of sandwich left, claiming she was all filled up.` Ty cleaned their hands and put their sweatshirts on, since it looked like the wind had picked up outside. Dropping some money on the table for the bill, Ty herded the kids to the door. Lily didn't want to walk, so he carried her and the boys each had a finger of his left hand.

It took a few minutes to get everybody settled into the truck. Lily wanted to sit next to Ty, Jackson didn't want to sit next to the window, and AJ's seat buckle was hurting him. Finally, Ty sat in the driver's seat and started up the truck. The ride was mostly silent with the occasional garbled sentence of a two-year-old. It didn't take them long to arrive back at the ranch and Ty immediately saw the new truck and trailer parked in the driveway. It belonged to Ahmed.

The kids were mostly quiet as Ty unloaded them from the truck and led them down to the barn, where he was sure Amy would be. So far, there was no sign of Ahmed and the closer they got to the barn, Ty could hear Amy talking in her soothing-horse voice. There was a shuffle of hooves on concrete, then the bang of a stall door closing and the lock sliding into place. Lily started walking faster, straining against Ty's hold, when Amy came into view.

"Mommy!" Lily called.

Amy turned and smiled when she saw that it was them. Ty let go of Lily's hand and the little girl took off running toward her mother. Amy knelt down and caught Lily in her arms, lifting her up as she stood back up.

"I missed you," Lily said.

"I missed you, too," Amy replied. "And look what I brought home." She turned so that the little girl was facing the stalls. Ty and the boys were now in the barn and Ty could see the two new horses in the stalls across from them.

"Who are these two?" Ty asked, after giving Amy a peck on the lips in greeting. He looked at the stocky, bay, quarter horse mare, definitely not one of Ahmed's grand-prix showjumpers. The other mare, a chestnut thoroughbred cross, looked more the prince's style.

"This is Lana," Amy said, walking over to the quarter horse mare. "Her owner has a daughter who takes lessons at Ahmed's stables. She saw me working with the horses and mentioned that her reliable trail horse has started being aggressive with other horses while under saddle, making trail rides with her daughter difficult. I asked if she wanted me to take a look at her and she seemed so relieved and grateful."

"That's great, Amy," Ty exclaimed, putting his arm around her. "Pretty soon this barn will full of horses." Amy smiled, looking down at Lily, who was playing with the zipper of her sweatshirt. Ty nodded toward the chestnut mare in the other stall. "What about her?"

"Oh, that is Autumn Falls," Amy said, walking to the next stall over. Ty followed her, taking Jackson's and AJ's hands, after they had been in the midst of throwing loose hay up in the air. "She's one of Ahmed's newest jumpers. She's only six, but she has a lot of talent and spirit." Even as she spoke, Autumn stood tall and proud, looking over the stall door. Her eyes shining bright with eagerness and intelligence as she watched them. "It's just the last show she was at, she had a complete meltdown and had to be sedated just to get her back onto the trailer."

"Ahmed actually agreed to let you bring Autumn here?" Ty asked.

"Well, it took a little convincing, but I wanted to work with her in a less stressful environment." Amy answered, shifting Lily over to her other hip. Lily reached her hand out toward the mare. Autumn stretched out her nose toward the toddler, blowing a little in her face. The little girl pulled back her hand and buried her face in her mother's shoulder. Amy laughed. "She likes you."

At that, Lily looked back up. Feeling braver this time, she reached up and touched the mare's velvety soft nose. "Nice horsie," she said, and giggled when the mare touched her. Then, Lily leaned forward until her cheek was touching the mare's nose. For a moment, neither horse nor toddler moved. Smiling, Amy looked over at Ty, who smiled back at her.

"Ok, I think it's time we go inside and take a nap," Ty said, looking at Lily and then down at the boys.

"Mommy, come back?" AJ asked, looking up at him.

"She'll be back soon," Ty nodded.

"Where is Rebecca anyway?" Amy asked him.

"She and Caleb went to look at an apartment today, Becky is thinking of moving out of Heartland," Ty said simply. "Do you want to help me put them down?"

"Actually," Amy started, and handed Lily to Ty. "I wanted to stay out here a little longer, just to make sure the mares are settling in okay."

Lily seemed to realize that Amy wasn't coming and started to whine. "I stay, mommy! I stay, mommy!" Ty gripped her tighter as the the two-year-old tried to reach for Amy again, almost falling out of Ty's arms in the process.

"They seem fine to me," Ty commented, glancing at the two mares, after he readjusted Lily in his arms. "It will only take a few minutes."

"I know, but I only have a limited amount of time with Autumn," Amy said, and Ty got the feeling she was just using any excuse to stay at the barn longer. "Ahmed doesn't want to take her off the team and the next show is in a couple weeks, so every minute counts."

"Ok," Ty finally replied, after a long pause. Ty turned to leave, which only caused Lily to cry. The whole way back to the house, Lily called out for Amy until her voice was hoarse. Ty had stopped trying to explain to her what Amy was doing because it only made her cry harder. He had only looked back at the barn once, but Amy had disappeared into one of the stalls. He wandered if his daughter's unanswered cries were breaking Amy's heart as it was his.

**~OOO****OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~**

Later that afternoon, Ty sat in the living room with Jackson, who was on the floor playing with his matchbox cars. He had only just woken up, while his sister was still sleeping. It had taken a while to get Lily to calm down after he had brought them all inside, but when she finally did stop crying, she had gone right to sleep. Rebecca and Caleb had picked up AJ a half hour ago, during which Amy had made an appearance in the house. She was now back outside, having wanting to check on the horses again.

Now, Ty listened to his son make car noises while lining up all the cars and making them crash into each other. Ty leaned forward watching him. It seemed to give Lobo an invitation, because the dog got up from where he'd been lying by the front door and came over to him. Ty gave his fur a ruffle, realizing a little too late that the dog was standing in the middle of Jackson's mass of cars.

"NO!" Jackson growled and threw two cars at the dog. Lobo let out a loud cry as one of the toys hit him in the side and bolted from the room. Ty looked at the little boy and saw him sitting with his arms crossed and a sour expression on his face.

Everytime Jackson had an outburst like that, Ty's chest clenched with the thought of his son possibly going down the same road he had. He hoped that these outbursts were just apart of the _terrible twos, _something that he would grow out of. Ty didn't want his son to experience the same kind of hardship and pain he had. That's why, Ty was determined to be a different kind of father to his son, then his own father, or Wade, had ever been to him.

"Jack, hey," Ty said. Jackson kept staring straight ahead of him. "You know, we don't throw our toys like that."

"Lobo step...toys!" Jackson replied, angrily, throwing open his arms. "I get mad!"

Ty leaned over and pulled Jackson up until he was standing in front of him. "I know you got mad when Lobo messed up your cars," Ty said. "Lobo didn't mean it, and you hurt him when threw the car at him. I know you didn't mean to hurt Lobo."

Jackson shook his head, and looked up at Ty, his own green eyes staring back at him. "I sorry, daddy," Jackson apologized.

"It's okay, buddy," Ty told him, patting his arm. "Next time, somebody makes you mad, you come and get me or mommy, ok?"

Jackson nodded, "Ok. I say sorry,...Lobo." With that, Jackson ran from the room in the direction Lobo had went, toward the kitchen. Ty knelt down on the floor and started to rearrange the matchbox cars in lines, the way Jackson had before. The toddler returned a few seconds later, and before Ty knew it, the little boys arms were around his neck. "Love you, daddy."

Ty dropped the cars he was holding and wrapped his arms around his son. "I love you, too," he said, honestly. His heart warmed, thinking that he must be doing something right. "Hey, do you want to help me fix your cars now?"

Jackson nodded again. Ty sat on the floor with his son as they lined up the cars and took turns crashing them into each other. He laughed right along with the little boy, sharing his excitement. Even when Lobo decided to come back into the room and join in the fun, Jackson didn't mind. They were having too much fun to care.

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**A/N: **Again, I'm sorry for the long wait, but I hope this chapter was worth it, though. Please review! :)


	7. I Want My Son

**A/N: **Thank you for all the kind and supportive reviews. Now, the reason why this chapter is so late, is because I've been working on a trailer for this story. It's almost done, and I'll post the link for it soon. Like I promised, here is the next chapter. :)

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**Chapter Seven**

**I Want My Son**

"So, what do you think?" Rebecca asked when she stepped into her new apartment with her son. AJ looked around the room, his eyes wide as he took everything in. Rebecca placed him down on his feet and he ran over to the sliding glass door that led out to the balcony at the back of the living room. He pressed his face up to the glass door and then turned back around to face her.

"We live here?" AJ asked.

"Yep, do you like it?" Rebecca asked again, dropping the bag that had been slung over her shoulder on the floor. AJ nodded and ran back over to her. She picked him, giving an exaggerated groan at how heavy he was getting that made him giggle. "Do you want to go see your room?"

AJ nodded again, enthusiastically. She smiled and carried him down the hallway. The kitchen was across from the living room. The bathroom was the first door on the right, then right after that was the room that would be her bedroom. AJ's room was a little farther down on the left. As soon as Rebecca opened the bedroom door, AJ's eyes grew wide.

The walls were painted a light shade of blue and the floor was hardwood, like the hallway. She and Caleb had went out and bought a few pieces of furniture for the apartment, including the chestnut dresser and the dark blue toddler bed that occupied the room. There was a play rug, that depicted a suburban town on it, in the middle of the floor. All of his toys were here, some stored away in his toy box organizer. AJ started squirming in Rebecca's arms, so she put him down on his feet. He ran over to his blue-and-yellow riding car and climbed onto to it. Rebecca laughed as he started rolling around the room on his car.

"Do you like your new room?" Rebecca asked him, when he rolled past her.

"Yeeeaaahhh!" AJ cheered. He grunted as the car hit the bed, but that didn't stop him. AJ just backed up and continued rolling along.

Rebecca watched her son for another minute until her phone started ringing. Her smile only got bigger as she answered it. "What did you get lost?" she teased. "I'll give you a hint, third floor, fourth door from the elevator on the-"

"Becky?"

The voice sent an icy finger of dread sliding down her spine and her mouth snapped shut. Trying to hold on to some semblance of calm and control, for AJ's benefit, Rebecca stepped out of the room and closed the door behind her. She closed her eyes and leaned back against it. This couldn't be happening, it's been two years. This can't happen, not now.

"Becky? Are you there?"

"Yes, I'm here," Rebecca spoke, her voice barely above a whisper. She cleared her throat and spoke louder this time. "What do you want, Adam?"

"I just want to talk," Adam rushed to say. It seemed like he wanted to get everything out before she decided to hang up on him. "Please, I'm in town. Can we meet somewhere and talk?"

"So, just because you are in town, I should drop everything and see you?" Rebecca shot at him.

There was a pause on the other, and Rebecca almost thought he'd hung up until he spoke. "I know I hurt you," Adam said, remorseful. Rebecca scoffed. "I made a mistake. I want to make amends. Please, give me a second chance."

"I gave you a second chance, Adam, do you remember that, two years ago," Rebecca told him. "Instead, you ran away, like a coward, and left me _and_ your son."

Adam seemed to sense that she was about to hit the end call button, because he rushed on to say, "Please, Rebecca, I'm begging you! Just hear me out, then you can decide whether you want anything to do with me."

Rebecca deliberated for a moment, then finally said, "You have a half hour, I'll see you at Maggie's." She hung up before she could hear his response. Rebecca let out a loud sigh, covering her face with her hands. From inside the bedroom, Rebecca could hear AJ's Buzz Lightyear and then what sounded like toys scattering across the floor. Rebecca didn't want Adam to take away her son's happiness, she didn't want AJ to be hurt by him like she had been, more than once.

Letting the toddler play for a few minutes, Rebecca walked back down the hallway toward the living room. As soon as she stepped into the room, the apartment door opened and Caleb came in, carrying two boxes. He set the boxes down in the hallway and looked up at her.

"I made it," Caleb grinned. "And I only got lost once."

"And I didn't even have to send up a search flare," Rebecca added. "Listen, Lou just called me. She needs me to come into the diner and help with the lunch rush. I shouldn't be too long, just a few hours. Do you mind watching AJ til I get back?" She was surprised at how easily the lie she came up with it.

"No, of course not," Caleb said as Rebecca picked up her coat and purse. "But Lou couldn't get somebody else to fill in? I mean, she knew you'd be busy moving today."

"I know, but she sounded a little frazzled on the phone," Rebecca lied quickly. "Besides, I can't really say no to a little extra cash, can I?" She walked over and gave him a peck on the lips, ignoring the guilt that was already beginning to claw at her stomach.

"I guess not, but as you should know by now, that wasn't stress you were hearing, that's the way Lou always sounds," Caleb said. He leaned in to give her another, longer kiss. Rebecca let the kiss linger there for a minute before pulling away.

"I really have to go," she replied. Rebecca darted away, laughing, as Caleb made to grab her again. She reached the door and turned to face him. "I'll see you later." With that, Rebecca slipped out the door and breathed a huge sigh of relief.

**~OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~**

Adam looked exactly like he did two years ago. His blonde hair was combed back and his dark eyes seemed to pull her and everything else in like some kind of gravitational pull. Those same eyes that also belonged to AJ. He were dark, fitted jeans and light blue, button-down shirt with the cuffs rolled up to his elbow. His brown jacket was draped over the back of the chair he was sitting in. It seemed like no time at all had passed since the last time she had seen him. Rebecca had to physically remind herself of all the pain he had put her through for the last two years.

Adam sat up straighter when he saw her, a smile on his face. Rebecca kept her face neutral as she took the seat opposite him. He seemed to look past her for a moment, and his smile started to slip when he realized she was alone.

"Where is he? Where is AJ?" Adam asked. "I was hoping you would bring him with you."

"He's home, happy and safe, where he belongs," was all Rebecca said. He didn't need to know anything else.

Adam nodded slowly, but Rebecca sensed he was disappointed. He cleared his throat. "Order whatever you want, it's on me," he patted the menu, then before she could say anything, he continued, "Don't worry, I can afford it. I've had a steady job for a year and it's going really good." Adam smiled as if he were proud of himself. Somewhere deep down, Rebecca felt proud of him too, but she was careful not to show it.

"I'm not really hungry," Rebecca admitted. "What I really want to know is what you want?"

"Becky, I just want to buy you lunch, please," Adam said.

"Don't call me that," she snapped and she saw Adam flinch at her words. "You think that if you buy my lunch then I'll forgive you for what you've done?"

"No, that's not-" Adam stammered. "I know that I hurt you, I don't expect you to forgive me, but..."

"But what? Adam, what are you doing here?" Rebecca questioned him, trying to keep her voice down to an acceptable volume. It was hard, though, she could feel her anger boiling over.

"I want to see my son," Adam answered. "Alright? I want to see him, I want to meet him."

Rebecca was already shaking her head and she started to get up. "And then what? You'll take off again? No, no way."

Adam reached across the table and grabbed her arm before she could get very far. "Rebecca, AJ is my son, my own flesh-and-blood. You can't just kick me out of his life."

"Let go of me," Rebecca warned him, her voice low. Adam let go automatically, and Rebecca looked down at him as she remained standing. "I gave you a chance to be a father to AJ, do you remember that?" Adam looked down at the table, ashamed. "At the hospital, right after I gave birth to him! I wasn't sure if you were coming, then you showed up in my room. You were nervous, but I could tell you were happy too. I asked if you wanted to hold him, but you said no..."

"Bec—I couldn't—I," Adam tried to interject.

"No, you don't get to talk!" Rebecca cut him off. She was aware of people turning around to look at them, but she couldn't stop the words tumbling from her mouth. She couldn't stop until she had told Adam everything she had felt for the past two years. "Not after what you did. After you promised me you would come back, when you had no intention on doing that. You know, for that first week after AJ was born, I thought you just needed time. I didn't know what I was doing half the time. AJ was crying all the time. I _convinced _myself that he would be better off without me. I made it as far as the airport before someone came and talked me down. If it wasn't for the good people at Heartland, then AJ would be in foster care right now!"

Rebecca covered her face with her hands and sniffed back the tears. It had been a long time since she had thought about, let alone say it out loud, that awful moment two years ago. She didn't hear Adam get up from his chair, but she did feel him take her arm and start to lead her forward. Rebecca resisted at first, until she realized that everyone in the diner must be staring at her, so she allowed Adam to lead her outside. Only when they were outside, did Rebecca shrug out of his grasp. Adam didn't fight her.

"I know your mad," Adam started. He held up his hand, stopping her, when she started to say something sarcastic. "I don't deserve your forgiveness, but I want to try to earn it. I admit my mistakes, and I wanted to fix them."

Rebecca shook her head, not wanting to hear anymore, and started to walk past him. "No, you can't, it's too late."

Adam stepped in front of her, holding his hands out, preventing her from leaving. Rebecca took a step back, away from his touch. "Two years ago, Rebecca, I was in a bad place, you know that," Adam explained. "Yes, I was in rehab and getting better, but I was nowhere near one hundred percent. I was still battling the demons inside me, my father's voice was everywhere I went. That's why, I ran away from the hospital, from you and our son. I kept hearing that voice, telling me I was going to be a no-good father, I was going to let my son down again and again. I ran away because I was afraid that that voice would be right, and I guess it kind of was." Adam put a hand to his eyes, sniffing, and turned so that his body was facing halfway away from her.

Rebecca blinked back the tears that had formed while he had spoke. Hesitantly, she stepped over to Adam and put her hand on his arm. He stiffened under her touch, but didn't look at her. "Adam, why didn't you just tell me? I could of—you weren't alone in this." Rebecca said gently. "I was scared too."

Adam shook his head, not saying anything, and sniffed again. Before she knew what she was doing, Rebecca leaned her head down on Adam's shoulder. A shudder ripped through his body as he tried, unsuccessfully, to stifle the sob that came. A moment later, Adam turned abruptly, causing Rebecca to take a step back.

"I spent the past year rebuilding my life, I have a stable job, a decent apartment. I've successfully completed rehab and counseling, all for that one day that I would get to be with my son," Adam pleaded. "Please, give me another chance to be a father to our son."

With Adam standing in front of like this, vulnerable and with nothing else to give, she couldn't say no, but she also couldn't say yes. She wasn't about to put her son's happiness and welfare at stake. "I can set up a time where you can come and meet AJ," Rebecca finally said. "But I have to know that you're going to stick around first before we go any farther. He's only two-years-old, he won't completely understand that much and I don't want put any unneeded stress on him."

"I understand, and thank you," Adam replied, gratefully. He reached out to hug her, but Rebecca quickly stuck her hand out for him to shake instead. Adam looked disappointed, but he took her hand anyway, folding it in both of his hands. "You don't know how much this means to me."

"Just don't make me regret doing this for you," Rebecca found herself saying. She gently slipped her hand from his.

"I won't," Adam whispered. They stared at each other in silence for a couple of minutes, neither one of them moving away, but neither dared to move closer either. Finally, Adam cleared this throat. "So, um, you'll text me the day and time?"

"Yes, I will," Rebecca nodded, feeling like she just stepped out of the past. She shook herself back into the present. "Either tonight or tomorrow morning."

Rebecca walked away first, not because she wanted to get away from Adam, but because she wasn't sure what would happen if she stayed. She didn't look back as she climbed into her car and started it up. When she finally looked out the rear-view mirror, Adam was still standing on the sidewalk in front of the diner, watching her drive away. Maybe Adam had changed and would prove to be a good father to AJ, but what that meant for her, she didn't know.

**~OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~**

Rebecca arrived back at the apartment by mid-afternoon. She had driven around for a while trying to calm herself down and get her emotions in check. It wasn't until she was sure all remnants of her conversation with Adam was gone from her face, Rebecca felt it safe to return. It wasn't that she wanted to lie to Caleb, she just wanted to keep him from doing something he would later regret. If Caleb knew she had gone to see Adam, he would be mad, but if she came back to the apartment in tears, that would be it. He would rush off and start a fight with Adam. Rebecca didn't want that to happen.

She knew she would have to tell Caleb about Adam, sooner rather later. But what if she was working herself up for nothing and Adam decided to disappear again? Then, Rebecca remembered the way Adam's eyes looked when he was pleading with her to let him see AJ. They were full of guilt and the longing to be with his son. No, Adam would stick around this time, at least for a little while. So, there was no getting around it, she had tell Caleb. Tonight, no, maybe tomorrow, after she had worked everything out in her head first.

Biting her lip, Rebecca unlocked the apartment door and pushed it open. The TV was on in the living room, playing an episode of _Jake and the Neverland Pirates, _and AJ was sitting on the floor watching, hypnotized. Caleb was sitting the chair behind the toddler and he looked over at her when she came in. Rebecca couldn't read his expression, but she offered him a small smile anyway. He didn't return it. It was then that the show went on commercial and AJ broke his gaze away from the TV.

"Mommy!" AJ screamed, getting up and running over to Rebecca. She scooped him up in her arms as he wrapped his arms around her neck. "I miss you!"

"I missed you, too," Rebecca told him, brushing his brown hair back out of his face. "Did you have fun here with Caleb?"

AJ nodded. "We watch _Jake,_" he said. Then his dark eyes lit up as he remembered something else. "We build castle! Big one!"

"You did?!" Rebecca gasped, exaggerating her excitement for the little boy. It worked because AJ's smile got bigger. "Well, I'm going to have to see this for myself."

"In my room," AJ said, pointing down the hallway to his room.

Before Rebecca could take a step though, Caleb got up from the chair he was sitting in and came toward them. "Hey, AJ, how about you go on to your room, I want to talk to your mom about something first?" Caleb suggested. "She'll be there in a minute."

"Ok!" AJ said.

Rebecca put him down and the two-year-old ran off to his room. She watched him go with a smile on her face. "He seems to be settling in fine here," Rebecca commented, then she turned to Caleb. "I hope he wasn't too much trouble for you. I'm sorry again, for just dumping him on you like that."

"You know, AJ is never a problem," Caleb said. "But speaking of work, Lou called."

Suddenly, Rebecca's heartbeat was loud in her ears. She tried to tell herself it could mean anything, that Lou didn't necessarily rat her out. There could be a million different reasons she had called Caleb. It didn't mean that Caleb automatically know about Adam.

"She wanted to know how the unpacking was going," Caleb was saying. "I told her that it wasn't, because you were called into work. Now, she sounded confused because she had no idea what I was talking about. She never called you to ask you to pick up a shift."

Rebecca swallowed hard as Caleb locked eyes with her, his blue eyes boring into hers. Her throat went dry.

"So, if you weren't at the diner," Caleb continued. "Where were you?"

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**A/N:** What do you think? Please review, and stay tuned the for trailer. :)


	8. Indecision

**A/N: **Thank you to everybody who reviewed! I can't say that enough, and keep supporting this story. I just have one question, how does everyone feel about the Caleb/Rebecca relationship, like it or hate it? I'm asking 'cause I am shipping them so hard, I wish they could be on the show. :) Also, here is the link to the trailer for this story. watch?v=uCR5nnlrVuI&list=UUfWMPnaQu5dHIIAYBqAgXjQ If the link doesn't work, there is one in my profile.

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**Chapter Eight**

**Indecision**

Rebecca was frozen; she didn't know what to say. Her mouth opened and closed several times as she tried to come up with something to say. Caleb was still staring at her, waiting for her answer. Rebecca didn't know why she was hesitating, she was always going to tell him about Adam. Wasn't she? She had to tell him, now. It would get only harder, the longer she put it off.

"I was at Maggie's," Rebecca started, licking her lips. "But I wasn't alone."

"Ok, who were you with?" Caleb pressed.

Rebecca pressed her lips together and sighed. She had to do this. Taking Caleb's arm and leading him to the couch, Rebecca sat down and he sat down next to her. Rebecca turned towards him. "I'll tell you, but you have to promise you won't get mad," she said.

"Well, I can't really promise that, especially when you're acting so weird," Caleb replied. "Just tell me who it was."

"Well, you were right about the phone call. I lied, it wasn't Lou who called me, it was someone else," Rebecca explained. "It was Adam." She quickly squeezed Caleb's arm when it looked he was going to get up and say something. He stayed sitting and silent for now, but Rebecca didn't know how long that would last, so she rushed on. "He had called me earlier and asked if I could meet him somewhere. I was caught completely off-guard by the call, but I had told him I didn't want to see him. Adam kept saying how he just wanted to talk, and, I don't know, I suddenly thought that he could come by the apartment and stir up trouble. I didn't want that, so I went."

"So, what did he want?" Caleb asked, and Rebecca could see that he was trying to stay calm and rational for her sake.

"He apologized for everything that he had done and he said how he'd gotten his life together..." Rebecca paused unsure if she should continued, but, in the end, she did. "And, he wants to see AJ."

"You said no, right," Caleb said. "Please tell me you said no."

"I told him that he could meet AJ, but then we'll talk about what comes next," Rebecca answered.

"Are you crazy?!" Caleb exclaimed, standing up. "You're just going to let that guy back into your life? After everything he's done?"

"It's not that simple," Rebecca replied. "Adam is AJ's biological father. He has the right to see his son."

"As far as I'm concerned, he gave up that right, the second he left the two of you at the hospital," Caleb said angrily. He paced from the couch to the sliding door and back again.

"Well, fortunately, it's not your decision to make, it's mine," Rebecca told him, feeling like she not only had to defend her own actions, but Adam as well.

Caleb was silent for a long moment, but when he finally did speak, his voice was low. "Do you still love him?" he asked her.

The question came as a complete surprise to Rebecca that she actually opened and closed her mouth a few times, unsure of what to say. Did she still love Adam? They had been really serious before he had started drinking, planning their future together, including marriage. Then, in only a matter of weeks, all that was taken away from her with no warning or explanation. It would make sense that she would still feel something for Adam, but love? Rebecca didn't know.

"I think I just got my answer," Caleb said, turning away, he started walking to the door.

Rebecca realized her mistake immediately and jumped up from the couch. She hurried and blocked his path to the door. "Whoa, wait a minute," she replied. "I'm with you, Caleb. I love _you_. Adam is my past, that's all he is."

"Are sure about that?" Caleb asked her. "Then, why would you meet with him behind my back and lie to me about it? That doesn't tell me it's over between the two of you, it's actually the exact opposite."

"You don't understand!" Rebecca covered her face with her hands. She could feel herself losing control and was on the verge of tears. She didn't know what she could say to keep Caleb from leaving.

"Then help me to," Caleb said. "Why are you letting back into you life, your son's life? You're giving him the benefit of the doubt, after everything he's done, without any proof that he's stable now. How do you even know that he's really changed?"

"Because you're right!" Rebecca burst out, uncovering her face. "I still love Adam."

Tight-lipped and jaw clenched, Caleb didn't say anything.

"I never stopped," Rebecca continued, willing her voice to stay steady until she finished. "The drinking and then Adam leaving only pushed those feelings aside. I thought he was gone, so I moved on. But then, I saw him again, today at the diner. It was like I was seeing the boy I grew up with, the man I fell in love with. I wanted so much to believe everything he was telling me, but I stayed rational, for AJ, because, in the back of my mind, that voice kept telling me that Adam would hurt us again. I am trying to be strong for AJ, but I can feel myself slipping when I think of everything that I had ever wanted in the past is right there in front of me." As she finished, Rebecca realized that two tears had escaped and were sliding slowly down her face.

Caleb had been silent throughout her whole speech, but now Rebecca could see the sadness and hurt on his face. "Then, there is only one question left," he said quietly. "What am I still doing here?" Caleb made to move past her, but Rebecca stepped into his path again, her back slamming up against the door.

"No, wait!" Rebecca stopped him, regretting now her whole confession. "That doesn't mean I don't love you, because I do. _I love you_. After Adam left, I was a mess, there were times I just wanted to give up and not have to deal with anything. But you stayed with me, through all those long nights and convinced me that I could be a good mother to AJ and have a good life. You put me back together again and I am so grateful for everything you've done, for loving me and my son. AJ loves you and I'll hate for him to lose you. So, please stay, we can talk about this."

Caleb shook his head, and Rebecca could see how much she was hurting him. "I'm sorry, Becky," Caleb replied and Rebecca closed her eyes as more tears fell. "I've been in this position before and I told myself that I would not let that happen again." Caleb reached out and touched her cheek. She put her hand over top his. It looked like he was about to lean in and kiss her, but at the last second he pulled back. Then, there was a click and the door jerked open against her. She stepped away from the opened door and looked at Caleb.

"Goodbye, Rebecca," he whispered. Then, before Rebecca could stop him, Caleb slipped out the door and closed it shut behind him. Rebecca leaned against the now-closed door, covering her face with her hands and let out the huge sob she'd been holding back. AJ's playful voice floated to her from his room down the hall and Rebecca wondered if she had just ruined both their lives?

**~OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~**

Caleb was torn; a part of him wanted to turn the truck around and head back to Rebecca's apartment, to tell her that he would stay with her and help her through this situation. But the other part of him, the rational part, knew better. He remembered how he felt after Ashley left him and he didn't what to take the chance of it happening again. He had grown too close to both Rebecca and her little boy to just leave, but if he didn't get out now then he would just be setting himself up for an even worse heartbreak. No, this was the right thing for him.

Stepping more on the gas pedal, the truck picked up more speed. Caleb needed to get home to his trailer, he needed to get off this street, so that he would stop thinking of her. No good came of thinking about her. Rebecca had told him herself that she still loved Adam, they have a son together, why shouldn't they become a family? Because, Adam was only going to end up hurting her again, the same way he did two years ago. Only this time, it won't only be her, AJ would get hurt too. Caleb shook his head, he couldn't think about that.

Movement on the sidewalk on his left caught his eye, and when he glanced over, Caleb almost couldn't believe it. Adam was walking out of a grocery store, a plastic bag in hand, toward a beat-up, old car parked on the side of the street. There was no doubt in Caleb's mind that was the guy who had beat up both Amy and Rebecca two years ago, and then left the latter alone to raise a newborn. Just seeing the guy filled him with a rage with only one possible way to let it out.

Before he even realized what he was doing, Caleb pulled the truck over to the side of the road and jumped out. He crossed the street in five large strides and hurried to catch up to Adam. He had just unlocked his car door and tossed the plastic bag onto the passenger seat by the time Caleb caught up to him. The street was empty except for the two of them, but Caleb didn't want to waste any time, in case someone did come out from one the buildings or pass by in a car. Caleb reached out and grabbed Adam by the back of his jacket collar and spun him around. Adam gave a small yelp of surprise as he was almost yanked off his feet.

Caleb didn't waste any time on pleasantries, instead he pulled back his fist and punched Adam right in the face. Adam flew back against the car and looked at Caleb in shock, clutching his face. It took a minute for it to register in Adam's eyes, but once it did, Caleb was sure that he remembered who he was.

"If you love Rebecca like you say you do, then you'll leave, before you hurt her again," Caleb told him. Not waiting for a response, Caleb turned on his heel and started walking back up the sidewalk. He didn't get very far, though, when Adam did speak up.

"He's my son, I want to make things right!" Adam called.

Caleb stopped short and turned slowly around to face him again. There was only one thing he could say. "No, he's not."

**~OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~**

Later that night, Rebecca tucked AJ into his new toddler bed and lay down beside him. So far, AJ didn't show any objections about sleeping in a bed by himself, but Rebecca had gone all the way to make the getting-ready-for-bed routine as fun as possible. There was the twenty-minute long bath, where AJ was a pirate captain and Rebecca was the evil octopus guarding the treasure. Then after AJ was dressed in his favorite frog jammies, they had his favorite cookies, chocolate chip, and milk in the kitchen. Now, the two-year-old was finally showing signs that he was sleepy as they lay watching the Disney/Pixar movie, _A Bug's Life_.

Rebecca looked down at her son as he lay still and quiet as he often does whenever he watches TV or a movie. One hand clutched his blue, goldfish blanket and the other one was behind his head. His thick, dark hair framed his small head like a halo and his brown eyes absorbed the movie. Rebecca wasn't sure exactly how of much of the movie AJ actually understood, but he laughed at the parts he thought were funny, like when the line of ants panicked over a leaf falling in their path.

"So, do you like your new house?" Rebecca asked him, after he finished one of his laughing fits. AJ nodded, his eyes still glued on the television. "What's your favorite thing about it?"

"My new room!" AJ exclaimed, throwing his arms up and smiling.

"You do?!" Rebecca feigned surprise. "Good, because I made it just the way I hoped you'd like it." AJ had turned his attention back to the movie and Rebecca glanced at it quickly, before adding, "I love you, baby."

"Love you, mommy," AJ said, looking up at her. Rebecca kissed the top of his head and settled herself down on the small bed to watch the movie until the little boy fell asleep.

It was a few minutes later, when Rebecca's eyes were starting to get heavy with sleep, she felt a small tap on her arm and then, AJ's voice. "Mommy?" he was saying.

Rebecca opened her eyes and saw him looking at her. "Yes, baby?" she asked him, yawning.

"Daddy coming?" AJ asked.

That woke Rebecca up completely. She sat up, causing AJ to follow suit as he continued to look at her. Rebecca didn't know what to say. AJ had never referred to anyone as _daddy _before, and he certainly didn't know about Adam. He must have learned it from listening to Lily and Jackson say it all the time. But this was the first she'd ever heard him say the word.

"Do you mean Caleb?" Rebecca asked him, to be sure. AJ nodded, looking at her expectantly. She pushed his hair back out of his eyes, hating to disappoint him. "No, not tonight."

AJ's face fell for a second, but then perked back up when he asked, " 'morrow?"

To be honest, Rebecca didn't know when or if AJ would see Caleb again, and it was all her fault. "I don't know, baby," she finally said. "I don't know."

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**A/N:** I'm sorry this chapter took so long to post, but I hope it was worth the wait, because this chapter was a pain in the butt to write. I know, there hasn't been any Tamy in the last two chapters, but don't worry, the next chapter will be Tamy filled. So review, if you would like more Tamy and let me know what you thought about this chapter as well. :)


	9. Too Perfect

**A/N:** Thanks again for all the lovely reviews, especially Golden Immortality and JPNightRun! You two are the best! I hope you all enjoy this Tamy-filled chapter! :)

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**Chapter Nine**

**Too Perfect**

"Ok, are you going to be good for mommy and Jessie today?" Ty asked as he kissed both Lily and Jackson. The twins sat at the breakfast table finishing their cereal.

"Yes, daddy," Lily smiled, showing off a mouthful of baby teeth. Ty gave her another hug and then turned to Jackson, who was spooning more Cheerios into his mouth.

"What about you?" Ty asked him, poking him in the side. Jackson looked up at him, a big smile on his face and milk dribbling down his chin. Ty picked up a napkin and wiped his face clean.

"I be good," Jackson said.

"Okay," Ty replied. He straightened back up just as Amy came into the kitchen, cell phone in hand. She had a bit of a tense look on her face and Ty was instantly concerned. "What's wrong?"

"That was Jessie," Amy said, holding up the cell phone. "She called to let us know that she was going to be late getting here, about an hour. Something about running something to the post office." She shrugged.

"I'm sure, she'll be here as soon as she can," Ty assured her. "I'll stay with you until then, but I have rounds today, and I was hoping to get done before noon."

"No, of course, go," Amy said, shooing him to the door. "We'll be fine."

"Ok, but if you need anything, don't hesitate to call me," Ty told her, as he picked up his medical bag and opened the front door.

"You have nothing to worry about," Amy reassured him. She leaned up to press her lips to his. Ty returned the kiss, wrapping one arm around her, holding her close. Amy clutched his jacket when she felt him start to pull away, not wanting the kiss to end. But it had to, and Amy pouted when it did.

"I have to go," Ty said quietly. "But I was thinking we could go out for lunch, if I get done early enough, all four of us?"

"Sounds good," Amy agreed, reluctantly letting him go. Ty gave her a last peck on the cheek and turned to go. She closed the door behind him and made her way back to the kitchen. The twins were in the midst of banging their spoons together, but stopped and looked up at her when Amy walked in. "How about we get dressed while we wait for Jessie to get here?"

Lily agreed, but Jackson shook his head no as Amy started to get them down from their booster seats. Jackson immediately ran off to play with his toys, but Lily allowed Amy to take her by the hand and lead her upstairs. It only took a few minutes to let the little girl go potty and dress her in purple stretch-pants and a gray-and-purple striped, long-sleeve shirt. When they went back downstairs, Amy brought Jackson's clothes with her, a pair of toddler jeans and a black-and-gray, long-sleeve shirt with a motorcycle on it.

The little boy was on the floor of the living room playing with his toy motorcycle and Lily's toy horse. Lily immediately saw him playing with her toy and scrambled to get down from where Amy was carrying her. She marched over to her brother, grabbed the toy horse from him and stuck her tongue out at him. Jackson just stared at her and that's when Amy saw the wet spot on the back of the little boy's pajama pants.

Amy kneeled down next to her son. "Jack, did you pee-pee in your pants?" she asked him. As an answer, Jackson stopped playing and looked down at the carpet. "What happened to going on the potty?"

Jackson shrugged, his shoulders reaching up to his ears. "No, feel it," he mumbled.

"Ok, well, let's get you cleaned up," Amy told him, reaching over to pick the little boy up. Jackson rested his chin on Amy's shoulder.

"I sorry, mommy," Jackson said.

"It's okay," Amy replied, standing up. "Just tell me next time you have to go." After she got Jackson dressed, Amy cleaned up the breakfast mess in the kitchen and she tried not to count the minutes until Jessica got here.

A half hour later, Jessica walked through the front door and both twins rushed to greet her. Amy smiled at their warm interaction with the other woman. They really have accepted Jessica into their life, and they thought of her more as a big kid than a nanny. Lily was in the process of pulling Jessica's bag off her shoulder, and asking her about something. Amy chided her daughter, and Lily stopped instantly.

"It's okay," Jessica said, waving it off as toddler antics. She reached her hand into her bag, though. "Yes, Lily, I brought the surprise I told you I'd bring." Jessica withdrew her hand, pulling out a large _My Little Pony _coloring book and matching crayons.

Lily gasped and reached for the book, her eyes seeing stars. She hugged the book to her chest and then ran over to Amy. "Look, mommy! I got Pony!" she squealed.

"You got more Ponies?!" Amy matched her excitement. Lily nodded enthusiastically.

"What 'bout me?" Jackson was asking Jessica.

"For you, Jack, I got," Jessica said, pulling out another coloring book and box of crayons, instead of _My Little Pony_, though, this one was Farm animals. "Animals!"

"Cow!" Jackson exclaimed, taking the book from her. He walked over to the coffee table, mooing the whole way.

"Well, it looks like you have things under control here," Amy commented, pulling on her jacket. "I have a client coming, but you can bring them out whenever they get antsy." She secretly hoped that the coloring books would keep the twins busy for awhile.

"Okay," Jessica said, kneeling down in between the twins at the coffee table. They had already started coloring intently. "We'll be fine."

Amy slipped outside and breathed in the fresh, autumn air. She didn't linger for long though, in case one of the twins realized she was gone. Hurrying to the barn, Amy wanted to get Lana ready before her owner arrived. She had figured out that the Quarter Horse mare wasn't being aggressive, she was just the lead mare type horse. She would constantly boss the other horses around and keep them in their place, even when under saddle. It didn't take long, though, for Lana to understand that Amy was the 'lead mare' and learned to submit to her and not worry about other horses when she was ridden. But that wouldn't do any good when she went home, so Amy invited the mare's owner over to assume the leadership role the mare would need.

Lana met her at the gate to the pasture she shared with Autumn, Ahmed's horse. Amy smiled as she fed the mare a peppermint treat from her pocket. Sensing she was missing something, Autumn came ambling over, much to Lana's dismay. The bay mare pinned her ears back, but didn't make a move to snap at the chestnut. Amy rubbed the mare's neck, praising her, and gave her another peppermint. She gave one to Autumn as well.

Amy slipped the soft, red nylon halter onto the mare and led her out of the pasture. Lana was quiet and patient as Amy groomed her inside the barn, as she always is. The mare pricked her ears and gave a soft whinny five minutes into the grooming session. Amy turned and saw a middle-age woman approaching the barn. She had light brown hair that was graying on top, and she was wearing dark jeans and black jacket with _Equestrian Mom_ stitched on the side.

"Hi, Cassidy," Amy greeted Lana's owner. "How are you?"

"Good," Cassidy said. "I'm actually glad that you invited me over. After everything that you've told me about Lana, it all makes sense. I'm excited to get started, maybe little more nervous." She gave an anxious laugh.

"Well, we can head to the round pen and get started," Amy replied, unhooking Lana from the crossties and clipping a lead rope to her halter.

Amy explained the process of join-up and what it is used for to Cassidy as they walked to the round pen. The older woman nodded her head a lot and asked questions when she didn't quite understand. Amy was glad to have somebody open to her techniques of horsemanship.

"Now, when I joined-up with Lana, it took me a little longer for her to accept me as a leader, but that's because she's only known me for a little while," Amy explained as they stood in the middle of the sandy round pen. "Lana already respects you, she just needs to accept you as the leader and not herself."

Cassidy nodded, and Amy slipped over to the fence to sit on the top rail. For the first two minutes, Cassidy was nervous and it affected the way Lana responded to her. The mare would trot a few paces, stop, look over at her owner, and try to come in to her. But once Cassidy got the mare cantering around the ring, she relaxed and join-up came a lot faster. Within a few more minutes, the bay mare was following her owner around the ring, her nose not far from her shoulder.

Amy smiled and clapped. She loved watching a horse and owner have a breakthrough, no matter how big or small, and learn to respect each other and work together. "You ready to ride her?" she called to Cassidy.

Ten minutes later, they were in the riding arena after they had tacked up Lana. Amy was riding Spartan to test the pair's new partnership. The mare had pinned her ears as soon as she saw Spartan, but so far she hadn't acted on her feelings. Now, Amy and Spartan were on the far side of the arena while Cassidy relaxed in the saddle.

"Ok, I'm going to start walking toward you!" Amy called to the other woman. "I want you to keep doing your circles, and if you start to feel her start to react to Spartan, give her something else to do! Keep her feet and her mind busy, so she focuses on you and not the other horse!"

Amy saw Cassidy nod, so she nudged her calves into Spartan's barrel and the gelding started walking. Cassidy was working on a ten-meter circle, and the mare was completely focused on her rider. It was when Amy was more than halfway there when the mare took notice of them. She flicked an ear in their direction, but kept her focus when she was asked to turn a very tight circle.

Urging Spartan into a faster walk, Amy pressed closer. Lana pinned her ears immediately. Cassidy urged the mare into a faster walk as well, and turned her into a wider circle. Amy asked Spartan for a slow trot and started to pass the mare on the outside. Lana didn't like that at all; the mare balked and attempted to kick out at Spartan, but Cassidy was faster. She kicked the mare into a walk and immediately turned her into a tight, left circle, three times. Cassidy let the mare stop, facing Spartan.

"Nice job," Amy praised her.

Cassidy smiled and gave her mare long pat on the neck.

"Mommy!"

Amy couldn't help the small feeling of dread that went through her at the sound of the twins' voices. She'd expected, and given Jessica permission to bring the twins outside, but she had secretly hoped that they would have wanted to stay inside and play. She had known that was futile thinking, they loved to be outside.

"Are those your twins?" Cassidy asked, turning to look at the three newcomers.

"Yes, Lily and Jackson," Amy smiled. "And that's our nanny, Jessica."

"They are so cute!" Cassidy gushed over the twins.

"Thank you," Amy said as she asked Spartan to approach the gate. She could already hear Lily asking for a horsie ride. She knew that they weren't going to get anymore work done now. Amy turned to look at Cassidy. "You did a great job today, we can end it there, if you want?"

Cassidy nodded, "Yeah, I'm actually pretty tired after all that."

"Ok, I can take care of her for you, if you want to go?" Amy offered.

Cassidy shook her head as she dismounted. "No, I want to do it."

Amy dismounted from Spartan as the other woman led Lana out of the arena. Jessica held the twins' hands as Amy walked Spartan out of the gate. "I'm sorry, we interrupted your session," the nanny apologized. "They saw you out the window and wanted to come see what you were doing."

"No, it's ok," Amy reassured her. She scooped up Lily, who was still asking for a ride, and placed her on Spartan's saddle. The little girl immediately picking up the reins, beaming with excitement. Before Jackson could start asking as well, Amy picked him up and sat him behind his sister. The change in Spartan was apparent with the twins in the saddle; the gelding had his ears pricked and he stepped slowly and carefully.

"They really love being around the horses," Jessica noted as she watched the twins giggle and enjoy the ride.

"Well, it's in their blood," Amy smiled at her children as she walked Spartan to the barn. When they stopped inside the stable, neither twin wanted to get off, but with a promise to brush the gelding, they came right off. Jessica was right, Lily and Jackson did love being around the horses and that made Amy feel better about the interrupted session.

**~OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~**

Ty had arrived back at the ranch before twelve o'clock, just as they were all heading back up to the house. Cassidy had left awhile go, after she'd told Amy that she'll text her with the available time she could come work with Lana again. Both Lily and Jackson greeted Ty with excited hugs and cheered when he asked if they wanted to go out for lunch. Neither one of them wanted Jessica to leave, though, so Amy and Ty invited her to come out with them. At first, she declined, but they insisted they wanted to treat her for everything she's done for them. In the end, Jessica agreed to come.

Now, they all sat at a table for five at Maggie's Diner. Both Lily and Jackson wanted to sit next to Jessica, so she was stuck sitting in the middle of the two of them. Amy and Ty were completely fine with it, it meant that they could hold hands under the table, something they haven't been able to do for awhile.

"Don't like this," Lily was saying as she picked a small piece of green melon out of her fruit cup. She handed it to Jessica, who deposited the fruit in a napkin.

"Don't forget to eat your chicken nuggets," Amy reminded her daughter, pushing her plate closer to her. Lily gave a small nod, but kept eating her fruit. Jackson on the other-hand was almost done his chicken nuggets, after having dug in almost as soon as his plate was set down in front of him.

"What happened to all your nuggets?" Ty asked his son, incredulously. Jackson held up the only half-eaten nugget he had left, smiling big. "That's all?!" Jackson nodded. "Wow, you're going to grow to be so big and strong!"

"Like you," Jackson said, after he had stuffed the last bite of nugget in his mouth and pointed at Ty.

"Yes, just like me," Ty replied, tickling the toddler's belly a little. Jackson started to laugh, but stopped when food started to fall out of his mouth. He pushed the food back in with his hand. Ty handed him the diner-supplied kids' cup full of milk to help him swallow better.

"They really are the sweetest kids I've ever been around," Jessica commented, looking from Lily to Jackson, and then at Amy and Ty. "I've heard stories about the terrible twos, but it's not really true for these two. I mean, there's a tantrum here and there, a squabble over a toy, but nothing too bad."

"Thanks, but we've had our share of pull-your-hair-out days," Ty said. "I mean, twins were a lot more than we were expecting."

"I couldn't imagine having twins on a regular basis," Jessica replied, placing her water glass down on the table, after having taken a sip.

"It's hard, but we wouldn't trade them away for anything," Amy said, looking over at Ty and squeezing his hand. Ty looked at her, and leaned over to place a kiss on her cheek.

The conversation stopped when they heard the sound of spitting. It was Lily, spitting out pieces of her chicken nuggets. "Yucky," she said, when she stopped and stuck her tongue out.

"I thought you loved chicken nuggets?" Amy asked her, taking a look at Lily's plate. Bits of chewed up nuggets were spat out all over the other untouched nuggets. Lily shook her head and pushed her plate away. "Do you want some of Jackson's macaroni and cheese instead?"

They had ordered mac'n'cheese with Jackson's chicken nuggets, knowing the toddler wouldn't eat the fruit that Lily liked. When Lily nodded, Amy handed her plate to Ty, so he could put some of Jackson's macaroni on it. As Ty reached over with a spoon, that's when Jackson seemed to catch on and covered his macaroni with his hands.

"No! Nooo!" Jackson exclaimed.

"I'm just going to take a little bit for Lily. Don't you want to share?" Ty asked him. Jackson shook his head, not moving his hands. Ty decided to try another tactic. "Ok, if you let Lily have some of your macaroni, you can have her chicken nuggets?" Ty held up Lily's remaining two chicken nuggets.

A minute went by before Jackson finally nodded and moved his hands. Ty breathed a sigh of relief as put the two chicken nuggets on Jackson's plate and gave Lily half the macaroni and cheese. Lily licked her lips when Ty placed her plate back in front of her.

The rest of lunch went by without any other incidents. When it was time to leave, both twins gave Jessica an extra long hug, saying how much they were going to miss her. After they had buckled the two toddlers into their car seats, Amy and Ty decided to stop over at Heartland. It had been awhile since they've seen everybody and they needed something that would tire the twins out. So, they headed to Heartland listening to Jackson's motorcycle sound effects most of the way.

**~OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~**

When they drove down the long driveway to Heartland, Amy spied movement in the jumping ring. Georgie was taking Phoenix over a course of jumps. She marveled over at how completely at ease the fourteen-year-old was on the big, grey gelding. Katie was down at the other end of the ring on her little paint pony, Pogey. The five-year-old was becoming a real cowgirl, she could steer the pony all by herself and could even trot a little bit. Lou stood nearby, though, just in case something happened. She waved to them as they drove past the ring and parked in front of the ranch house.

"Pogey!" Lily squealed when Amy lifted her from the car. The twins loved Katie's pony and always gushed over him whenever they came to Heartland. Lily strained against Amy's hand, wanting to go pet the pony. Jackson, on the other-hand, was quiet as Ty carried him, his head resting on his daddy's shoulder.

"What's the matter with him?" Amy asked, when the two rounded the back of the car.

"I don't know, he's not talking," Ty answered, glancing at his son. Jackson stared at a spot just beyond Amy. "Maybe, the car ride just made him tired."

Amy nodded in agreement, thinking that was probably it. As they started walking to the riding ring, Lou met them at the gate as they approached. "They look good out there," Amy said to Lou, nodding toward the two girls on their horses. "Especially Katie, she's a complete natural."

"Yeah, well, all she wants to do is trot that pony all over the place, she makes me nervous," Lou replied, glancing back at Katie. "Now, she wants to learn how to jump like Georgie."

Amy and Ty tried to hide their laughs at Lou's protectiveness and and compulsive need to control everything, but Lou saw them. "It is not funny," she said, indignantly. Then, when Katie rode past them, she called to her, "Honey, stop kicking Pogey's sides so much! Give that pony a break!" Lou looked back Amy and Ty, sheepishly. "Alright, fine, I get it."

They all had a nice laugh, and then Ty leaned toward Amy. "I have to take Jackson to the bathroom," he said.

"Ok," Amy replied. She looked down at Lily. "Lily, do you have to go potty?" Lily nodded without taking her eyes off the two horses in the ring.

Amy and Ty had just turned to leave when Georgie's voice rang across the arena. "Amy, wait!" Amy turned back around and saw Georgie trotting Phoenix toward the fence. "Can you give me a lesson right now, please?"

"Georgie, _I_ was giving you a lesson," Lou said.

"No offense, but," Georgie grimaced. "You yell too much and you put the jumps way to low. Phoenix can do those puny jumps in his sleep."

"Well, I guess I know when I'm not needed," Lou gaped. She turned to Amy. "Do you mind?"

"Not at all," Amy smiled. She looked at Ty and handed him Lily's hand. "I'm sure you can handle these two?"

"Of course," Ty said. "Your expertise is needed." He leaned forward and placed a short, sweet kiss on her lips. When they pulled apart, Amy saw Jackson sticking his tongue out at their affection. Ty smiled and Amy laughed as she tickled the little boy. When Ty did start walking to the ranch house, Lily started walking too, until she realized Amy wasn't coming with them. She stopped short.

"I stay, mommy," she said.

"No, you go potty real fast, and then you can come back outside," Amy told the little girl. "Okay?"

Lily didn't say anything, but when Ty took her hand again, she didn't resist.

Ty held the the front door open for Lily, urging her to hurry up. The two-year-old was taking slow, shuffling steps and she kept looking behind her at Amy. He had told her a few times that they would only be gone a few minutes, but Lily was just like her mother. She didn't like to be away from the horses for even a second.

"Gampa!" Jackson exclaimed as Ty was closing the door. Lily echoed his call and she ran through the kitchen.

"It's been awhile since I've seen you two," Jack said as lifted Lily up into the air. "You're getting so big!" Lily giggled and and Jackson whined as he reached out toward Jack.

"Who is that I hear?" came Lisa's voice as she came into the kitchen.

"Me," Lily answered.

"Me who?" Lisa asked her.

"Me, Lily," Lily said laughing.

"We were just coming in to use the bathroom," Ty explained, a little worried that one of the twins was going to wet themselves if they didn't get to the bathroom now.

"Oh, well, I'd love to see you use the potty like the big kids you are!" Lisa gushed as she held her hands out to Jackson. "Can I?"

"Sure," Ty said, handing the boy over to Lisa. Jack put Lily down on her feet and Ty watched as Lisa took both kids to the bathroom.

"So, how are you and Amy doing?" Jack asked as walked over to the coffeepot to pour himself another cup.

"We're doing great," Ty answered. "Yeah, Amy got the ranch up and running again. We have a part-time nanny taking care of the kids, things are going good."

"Glad to hear it," Jack said, clapping Ty on the back of the shoulder.

By the time, Ty brought the twins back outside, Amy was schooling Georgie over a course of six jumps. She had also set out two ground poles for Katie to trot Pogey over, even though she was riding in a western saddle. Lou sat on the fence rail, cheering when one of her daughters did something well.

"Things look like they're going well," Ty commented as leaned against the fence next to Lou. Lily and Jackson both sat down in the grass and began playing with their little toys they always bring with them. Lily's toy horse and Jackson's toy motorcycle.

"Yeah, I can't believe Georgie doesn't want me to coach her?" Lou shook her, still in disbelief.

"Well, she's at that age now where, you know, mothers and daughters...disagree about everything," Ty said, consoling her. "I wouldn't worry about it. Georgie's a good kid."

"Yeah," Lou agreed as she watched Georgie and Phoenix leap over a red-and-white striped oxer. They watched Georgie jump a few more fences, when Ty felt a presence slide up next to him. It was Caleb.

"Hey, how are you doing, man?" Ty greeted him.

"Alright, can I talk to you?" Caleb asked, nodding towards the barn.

"Yeah, sure," Ty said, then he turned to Lou. "Can you keep an eye on the twins for moment?" He didn't think they would be any problem, both twins were playing quietly in the grass.

"Of course," Lou replied. She nodded at Caleb. "Hey, Caleb."

Caleb remained silent as they walked to the barn, but Ty could tell something was eating at his friend. At first, Ty thought he'll have to drag it out of him, but as soon as they entered the stable, Caleb turned to face him. "Rebecca and I broke up," Caleb blurted out.

Ty almost took a step back in surprise. He'd really hadn't expected Caleb to say _that_. Caleb and his sister had been going strong lately, he'd actually thought they were taking their relationship to the next level. He wondered what had changed.

"Wow, I'm sorry, man," Ty said, truthfully, because he was sorry. He knew how happy they had both been together. "If you don't mind me asking, what happened?"

"Her ex happened," Caleb replied shortly. He walked over to the row of stalls, then turned back around. "Adam is back."

Again, Ty was taken by surprise and he blinked, not sure if he heard correctly. "In Hudson? Adam is back in Hudson?" he questioned.

Caleb nodded grimly.

"Does Rebecca know? What is she going to do?" Ty couldn't help the overflow of questions that spilled from his lips. Just hearing the guy's name made Ty's blood boil after everything Adam had put everyone through the last time he was here.

"She's going to let that guy weasel his way back into her life," Caleb answered, and it was obvious by the disgust in his voice what Caleb thought about that. "Adam told her that he wants to make things right, and get to know his son."

Ty didn't have to ask what Rebecca had said, because he could see it in Caleb's eyes. He loved his sister and would do anything for her, but he couldn't believe how stupid she was being. Jeopardizing her relationship for a guy, who was only going to disappoint her again. Ty shook his heard, he didn't like this.

"I feel like finding out where he's living and going over there and give him a warning he won't likely forget," Ty said to ease the tension in the air.

"Already taken care of," Caleb grinned and held up his right hand. Ty could see now that his knuckles were bruised. He grinned as well.

"I still don't like that she's going to be hanging around that I guy," Ty said after a while.

"Me neither," Caleb admitted.

Hoofbeats and sniffling brought their attention to the stable entrance. Amy was leading Pogey and she also had an arm around an upset Katie. The five-year-old look disheveled, her pigtails askew and she had a smudge of dirt on her cheek. She kept dabbing at her eyes, even though there was no tears falling.

"Katie just experienced her first fall," Amy explained, before either guy could ask what happened.

"Off that pony?" Caleb asked incredulously.

Katie nodded sniffling.

"They were doing really well, trotting over the ground poles," Amy said, squeezing Katie's shoulders. "Pogey stumbled, and when he righted himself, he actually jumped over the pole. Katie was unseated and she fell."

"Ah, it happens to everybody," Ty replied, walking over to give Katie a hug. "But the important thing is that you get right back on."

"I did," Katie said, pulling away from Ty. "But I don't want to ride no more today."

"That's ok, Katie, you were very brave," Amy told her the little girl as she tied Pogey to the stall, so they could untack him. "How about you untack your pony and give him a nice brushing?" Katie nodded and started to undo the cinch.

It was then that Georgie came into the barn with Phoenix and tied him up next to Pogey. "You did a good job getting back up, Katie," Georgie said, giving her sister a hug. "I'm proud of you." Katie hugged her back tightly. The younger girl also whispered a polite _thank you_.

Amy had stepped back to give the two girls a few moments alone, so Ty stepped up next to her. "Where's Lily and Jackson?" he asked her.

Amy looked up at him. "Out in the yard having a melt down with Lou and grandpa," she answered. "I was only making things worse, so Lou told me to bring Katie here and just let them play a little longer. But I think we should go, they're definitely ready for a nap."

"Definitely, by the sound of it," Ty agreed, just as they heard Jackson let out a loud cry. They said their goodbyes to everyone in the barn, and Ty gave a knowing look to Caleb.

By the time, Amy and Ty got outside, both twins were crying and rubbing their eyes. Apparently, Jackson had run over Lily's hand with his motorcycle by accident, and then Lily threw dirt at Jackson because of it. They thanked Lou and Jack as they both took the twins from them. The toddlers instantly grew quieter as soon as they were in their parents' arms.

Neither Jackson nor Lily put up a fuss as they were buckled into their car seats. They didn't even want their toys when Amy offered it to them. Jackson gave a big yawn and leaned his head against the side of his car seat, while Lily sucked noisily on her thumb. As Ty started up the car, he shared a look with Amy that said they both knew that the toddlers were going to be asleep soon. In fact, they were barely out of the Heartland driveway, when the twins were out completely.

* * *

**A/N: **How's that for a long chapter?! I'm sure that was worth the long wait, but I promise I won't keep you waiting long for the next chapter. Please review! :)


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